By Jin Hong Kuan March 20th, 2024

If blockchain is set to revolutionize finance, then why is setting up businesses on the blockchain so much more cumbersome and prone to mismanagement? At Opdefi, we believe wholeheartedly that blockchain can become the de facto network on which future commerce is done. We also know that for this to be realized, there are two fundamental challenges that need to be tackled head-on.

Challenges

First, businesses need a foolproof way to access their assets in disaster scenarios. Wallet and custody providers offer the valuable service of managing user assets securely, but ultimately, if there is no guarantee that businesses can move their assets at the crucial moment then there is always the looming risk of getting locked out of funds when they are needed.

Sovereign control over one’s assets is the core value proposition of blockchain, but because it has not been prioritized in the institutional space to date, similar incidents of avoidable disasters (e.g. FTX, Celsius) keep showing up.

We close that gap with our first product: a service integrated with major enterprise wallet providers to enable break-glass access for our users to their assets in disaster scenarios. A prime concern for businesses looking to commit capital to blockchain is that they can quickly access their capital when needed. The ability to maintain operational continuity could mean life or death for a business, especially when there is a liquidity crunch or market panic. These existential threats need to be dealt with before businesses can effectively commit to adopting various blockchain-enabled financial products.

Next, we will focus on making blockchain risks quantifiable. What one cannot measure, one cannot control. There are unique security and availability risks associated with every chain and wallet, from denial of service attacks on L1s to MPC client vulnerabilities - these are all important information to be factored into the decision matrix of a business. However, they should not be expected to pore over whitepapers and cryptography research to do so.

Instead, we empower businesses to make proper decisions by partnering with insurance underwriters to quantify and price these risks, and providing insurance coverage for possible disaster scenarios. Our goal is to cover each key operational decision, from setting up custodian transaction policies, to choosing which chain to trade on, and offer a corresponding insurance package priced reasonably and eventually automatically. This will allow businesses to assess the risk associated with each operational setup and base their decisions around concrete numbers.

Our product solutions complement this, so that our users’ business continuity plan can consist of the right mix of recovery setup, automation and insurance coverage. We are ready to provide active consultations to make this process seamless and straightforward for our users. By serving as a direct link between the infra builders and businesses, we also help aggregate demands for greater security and spread innovations in this space.

Opportunity

At Opdefi, we believe that blockchain has the incredible potential of revolutionizing global financial rails, and are excited to tackle the core problems holding back the industry. This is no easy task, but we are committed to building the right team with diverse perspectives to put together the necessary technical, financial, and regulatory pieces to transform blockchain risks. We know that solving these core problems will deliver immense real value to the space, which is the cornerstone of a sustainable and profitable business.

If you share our vision, please check out our open positions. If you do not find a fitting job description, please shoot us a message at team@opde.fi anyways and make the case for why you will be a good fit for the team!