Multichain Ventures and Tokes seek to revolutionize merchant payments and logistics through blockchain
The Tokes Platform is a blockchain focused company which initially began by building software solutions for merchant adoption of cryptocurrency and data provenance of supply chains within the legal cannabis industry. Although Tokes began in the US to combat the impediments of traditional banking on the cannabis industry, the software can be easily moulded to fit any language or industry.
Originally, the platform was developed as a solution to the cash-only problem stemming from the US federal prohibition resulting in banking restrictions. To solve this issue, the company created a suite of software for tokenized transactions encompassing consumer to business, business to business, and business to state transactions (i.e., taxes). However, blockchain provides utility for more than payments, as ensuring the provenance and transparency of cannabis supply chain data from “seed-to-sale” is not only a preferred scenario for consumers, but assists in complying with State-mandated regulations.
Products and services include, but are not limited to, point-of-sale processing software, ecommerce storefronts, mobile applications, and supply chain visibility tools. It is pertinent to stress that Multichain Ventures builds solutions which are fundamentally industry agnostic. Merchant ready cryptocurrency payments solutions are not yet widely adopted, and Tokes is intended to spread that adoption with the native Merchant Gateway suite of services. Supply-chain solutions are customizable, and designed to integrate with any industry’s country’s or languages conventional enterprise software via API.
CUSTOMIZED PAYMENT SYSTEM
A core service of the Tokes Platform is digital or cryptocurrency payment processing (e.g., dispensaries, cultivators, processors, suppliers, and tertiary services). Due to federal prohibition of cannabis, businesses within the legal industry must operate primarily in cash. These cash transactions occur at the point of sale, for business to business transactions (e.g., dispensary to cultivator), and for employee payroll. Until conventional banking allows cannabis businesses to utilize their services, this cash only ecosystem has an added liability of potential loss and increased accounting difficulty in a compliance heavy market. From the perspective of regulatory or tax authorities, this cash dependence also adds a layer of complexity to financial reporting of cannabis revenue and tax remittances. The Tokes Merchant Gateway software provides a point of sale application for cannabis businesses to accept the tokenized asset Tokes (TKS) or other cryptocurrencies in lieu of cash payments. Consumers are onboarded to the process using in-store kiosks or by loading their mobile wallet prior to visiting a merchant. The result is a fast, auditable, and inexpensive way to transact, which removes the cash handling liability of the merchant, while providing an auditable history of transactions, all on blockchain. The Gateway point of sale software has fully functional product management, employee sales tracking, exportable sales history, and integrations with auditing systems.
LOGISTICS
Logistics-wise, the Tokes platform produces supply chain visibility solutions on the blockchain for integration with the tailored seed-to-sale software to ensure the accuracy and availability of product data for regulators and business stakeholders.
The need for decentralization with logistics is clear. Centralization of any data structure can cause a point-of-failure resulting in potential data loss. By decentralizing the ledger of data behind a supply chain, blockchain allows greater security, transparency, and traceability of goods. Every time a product changes hands, it can be logged on this decentralized ledger, creating a permanent history of the product, one that is immutable. This has obvious benefits for responsible consumers concerned about the provenance of their products, but also for auditors and the business stakeholders themselves.
The ecosystem of Tokes software products for payments encompasses a full loop from consumer acquisition of tokens (via on-site kiosk partner VaultLogic), to merchant processing at the point of sale, and business to business transactions. Additionally, through strategic partnerships, Tokes offers custody solutions, allowing merchants to accept tokenized payments, trade these tokens for other digital assets, and subsequently initiate wire transfers through the custody agent to third parties. Please note that these custody solutions are optional, as sophisticated cryptocurrency users will naturally want self custody of their digital assets.
Why use Crypto in Logistics?
Physical cash is a huge security risk for those in the cannabis industry. It turns cash-based businesses into targets for theft and violence. Additionally, from a legislative perspective, cash has low traceability and makes it relatively easy to skirt taxation.
In contrast, cryptocurrencies are stored securely via complex cryptographic functions on a local digital currency “wallet.” To the extent that a user follows standard security measures: uses strong unique passwords, backs up wallet files, keeps wallets offline unless sending transactions, and avoids malware, a cryptocurrency wallet is virtually impossible to break into. One particularly beneficial feature of cryptocurrency is a sort-of built in escrow without the need for a third party. Through what is called a multi-signature wallet, it is possible to require more than one party to sign off on any individual transaction. This is great for businesses with more than one owner who want to prevent any individual partner from absconding with the totality of the funds in a digital currency wallet, as they cannot move them without all parties signing off. Finally, cryptocurrencies are not susceptible to asset seizure like bank accounts and custodial accounts, as there is no centralized service holding those assets.
On the legislative and tax front, blockchain and cryptocurrency provides significantly higher transparency than a cash transaction. Every single transaction is recorded on a public ledger, reviewable and auditable by anyone with the desire to do so. The pseudo-anonymity is a result of the fact that wallet addresses are not directly associated with an individual or business. However, we foresee an environment where each dispensary or business has a registered wallet address, and all transactions that flow through that account will be directly reportable to the appropriate agencies.
TOKES — the core ecosystem token
How does Tokes come into the picture? Tokes (TKS) is the native cryptocurrency of the Multichain Ventures ecosystem. Riding on one of the fastest blockchains, the Waves network, Tokes serves as the transactional token for our products as well as tokenized applications like the EDEN blockchain.
A common consideration with the acceptance of cryptocurrency from a merchant processing standpoint is the price volatility risk typically associated with cryptocurrencies. This burden is eliminated with the features built into the Merchant Gateway. Specifically, a merchant can accept any number of cryptocurrencies but choose a portfolio or settlement allocation that is prefered. The software will then programmatically execute trades on cryptocurrency markets, returning to the merchant their preferred selection of settled assets, including the option for asset backed stable tokens pegged to the U.S. Dollar.
While Multichain Ventures is for general Bitcoin adoption, it is important to remember that Bitcoin is a protocol, not a company. Multichain Ventures however, is not only a business, but is also a key driver of the larger socio economic movement of cryptocurrency. By targeting an industry with a banking problem (cannabis), Tokes is taking cryptocurrency technology and producing easy-to-use solutions that solve specific payment needs for the industry. While development of user friendly software is key to adoption, Tokes is marketing and deploying the software directly to merchants and consumers. Bitcoin has no such set of advocates pounding the pavement to garner adoption. Tokes provides the tech, educates the industry on how to use it, and provides support when necessary. Lastly, Tokes transactions are far faster and cheaper than Bitcoin at the present time, making Tokes an ideal solution for point of sale payments.
There are several benefits to using Tokes (TKS) over Bitcoin from a technological perspective as well. Tokes (TKS) transactions settle on the network in less than 30 seconds on average, and cost less than 1 cent per transaction regardless of the full dollar value of the transaction (Bitcoin costs more per transaction). Also, businesses using our technology completely avoid paying the standard 2–3% interchange fees for processing typical on credit card networks. Another bonus to utilizing cryptocurrency as a form of consumer payment is that transactions cannot be charged back to the merchant after the sale.
In summary, the last few years have seen a cambrian explosion in financial products and services offered on the blockchain, but they are often obtuse and limit wide-spread onboarding due to the innate complexity. Additionally, businesses that are not favoured by traditionally financial institutions fall through the cracks and are susceptible to theft and criminal manipulation. Tokes seems to plug the gap by using blockchain and innovative use of cryptocurrency to facilitate safe, secure and transparent handling of business transactions and product documentation.
ABOUT MULTICHAIN VENTURES
Multichain Ventures is a technology developer and FinTech services integrator focused on robust financial infrastructure that facilitates crypto-based commerce. Proprietary elements include: custody, compliance, KYC/AML, and payments, inclusive of price conversion and trade processing. To learn more, please visit https://multichain.ventures/
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Contact: Brett Puffenbarger, VP of Corporate Initiatives
MultiChain Ventures /// Brett@multichain.ventures /// 540–448–0608
