This week, we meet CEO of Online Blockchain (LON:OBC) Clem Chambers. Chambers has been involved in the software industry for over 25 years as a pioneer of computer games, multimedia and the internet. Online Blockchain is a UK-based blockchain research and development incubator which focuses on the growth of blockchain technology opportunities.
Chambers’ expertise in the popular field of blockchain, together with his unique opinions on the links between crypto and governments across the world make this podcast unmissable.
On the podcast
Chambers gives listeners an introduction to Online Blockchain and explains what makes the company one of the leading businesses in the blockchain sphere. Founded in 1996, Online Blockchain is the 23rd oldest company on the AIM. Its position as such a prominent corporation has enabled it to become a top innovator in cryptocurrency and decentralised ecosystems.
The road to becoming an established firm was not easy, however. As Chambers explains, the company had encountered countless obstacles in its early years, with the most notable of these concerning the fact that they were unable to find a financial institution willing to clear Online Blockchain for credit cards and debt funding. Chambers puts this down to the biased modern banking system which he argues systematically opposes and is fundamentally against the development and rise of the cryptocurrency market.
A blockchain bridge
With time, Online Blockchain was able to break free from its financial constraints and is now turning out to be an extremely successful business. At the forefront of the company’s success is its creation of Umbria. Umbria is a blockchain bridge (a connection that allows the transfer of tokens and arbitrary data from one chain to another) which enables traders to move Ethereum to other blockchain domains.
The key advantage of the project is in its transaction cost reduction. Currently, executing trades and moving Ethereum is extremely expensive, with transaction fees sometimes coming in at over 1%. Chambers claims that, through Umbria, Online Blockchain has built the cheapest and fastest Ethereum-based bridge, reflected in its strong uptake.
The project conveniently addresses the issues that many fund managers have come across regarding the crypto market and its currency infrastructure. A common complaint from fund managers has been that, if they are diversified across many token types and digital currencies, they have encountered problems with moving and transferring these assets. Umbria directly tackles this issue by facilitating smoother reallocations of one of the most prominent cryptocurrencies in Ethereum.
Online Blockchain works with and owns a 17.98% stake of ADVFN (LON:AFN), which is a stocks, shares and crypto information website providing financial tools and data to private investors around the world. This will give Online Blockchain the opportunity to delve into even more projects and diversify their operations in the future, should they wish to do so.