The BTF Platform

The BTF platform provides the middle and back office infrastructure software to get a business up and running on the Stellar blockchain.

The problem

It appears that most of the applications available on the Stellar blockchain today are geared toward individuals.  Currently, a complete solution to utilize the Stellar blockchain is not available to businesses. A business might want to issue assets, query holders, make mass payments, issue claimable balances, accept digital payments at POS, issue rewards points, direct market to holders of certain assets, the list of use cases goes on and on…

The solution

Enter the BTF Platform. A React web app that provides a business the functionality to leverage all the cool things that the Stellar blockchain supports, including issuing assets, creating liquidity pools, trading, making payments (including mass and claimable), and executing clawbacks. The BTF platform also has 20+ value-added modules that provide operations like onboarding users, KYC/KYB, AML, BSA, FinCEN, OFAC, AirDrops, Investor Communications, SEC/FINRA-compliant asset issuance, and much more. We utilize Circleʼs API for USDC and Coinbase’s API for cross-chain functionality. All this with a virtual back office that can produce statements, compliance, and regulatory reports. When moving money or other assets, the regulators want to see what you are up to! If you are looking for features in addition to what we have pre-built, no problem! Our platform is built using a low-code, rapid development tool that lets your team or BTF customize the solution you are looking for.  Here at BTF, we eat our own cooking!  Let us show you how we use our platform in our day-to-day operations.

Why we started Block Time Financial

Bruce and I became interested in blockchain technology in 2011 when Bitcoin was starting to gain traction.  The tech was cool but not fast enough for financial transactions.  Then Ethereum came along. Better, but still not fast enough, and the cost was prohibitive.  In 2016 we realized that Stellar and Ripple would work.  We chose Stellar for its business model, open source ecosystem, and superior technology.  We started BTF in 2017 to bring our vision to Wall Street and the Financial World.  Our vision: “What happens on Wall Street today, will happen on a blockchain tomorrow.”  Our early sales meetings were met with skepticism, doubt, and a minimal understanding of the technology and use cases.  As time progressed, some of our contacts started seeing the light and experimenting on their own.  Stellar applications at that time were great for individual use, but they were not robust enough for use in a regulatory environment and did not take advantage of all the blockchain’s functionality and features.  Bruce and I spent our careers in the highly regulated securities and futures community, so we knew what needed to be built.  We started building our platform in 2019 and now have a product that our clients feel comfortable enough with to start pilot programs and deploy limited use cases.  We’re very excited at the prospect of more and more businesses seeing the advantages and opportunities presented by blockchain.  All businesses move money, and most buy and sell assets.  Sounds like a pretty big market for the Stellar ecosystem!!!

We’ve seen firsthand the disruption of financial transactions and processes. Phase 1: Face-to-face, phones, pencil and paper were replaced with ones and zeros; the internet,...but you still have your broker and need the Exchange.  The next phase in the evolution will be removing the broker as the middleman and eliminating the Exchange as the counterparty.  This dynamic will also apply to other intermediaries and methods of payment.  E.g. Banks, insurance agents, title companies, and credit/debit cards.  Blockchain technology will be a major driver of this next phase as it replaces intermediaries in facilitating and validating transactions.  History says that this change will be resisted until the “water goes over the dam,” at which point adoption will occur far and wide in very short order.

Revenue Model and Funding

BTF is set up as a SaaS company for businesses. We offer flexible pricing plans for different size entities and various modules. Implementation fees will apply to enterprise-level companies that require an on-prem platform version.  We also offer customization, which generates professional services revenue. We recently completed our Series Seed funding round to fuel the next stage of our growth.

Market & Industry Research

We currently engage our network of contacts to target medium to larger businesses. We are leveraging our combined 70+ years of experience in the financial industry to identify the addressable market and high value opportunities. When you get down to brass tacks, all businesses move money, and most transfer assets of some kind. It sounds like a blockchain could help almost every company and non-profit in some way. We currently focus on banks, credit unions, investment banks, and hedge funds, as they have become the early adopters. As governments issue additional guidelines and regulations, and blockchain solutions are viewed as more “mainstream,” these vertical markets should accelerate.  After the early adoption phase, we will begin to target smaller businesses as our next area of opportunity.

Competition

Numerous Stellar applications have elements of the functionality provided by the BTF platform but are geared towards individual users and have a more specific purpose. We designed our software solutions to scale horizontally to a wide variety of corporate users, and vertically to leverage all the Stellar features and benefits while maintaining a focus on security and compliance.

Marketing and Sales

We leverage our network to identify opportunities to present C-level executives with use cases for blockchain technology. BTF puts businesses ahead of the curve as blockchain redefines existing fiduciary relationships and replaces transactional intermediaries.  We experienced the same dynamic as electronic platforms displaced face to face floor based trading in the equity and derivatives trading world.  Stellar, the fastest, low-cost, robust blockchain, is the backbone for BTF’s services. We have NDAs with several large companies and are looking to complete pilot projects with them within the next year.  We have begun the process of deploying our first enterprise level implementation for a financial services provider.  We utilize leading social media platforms along with lead generation software to produce a pipeline of hundreds of potential clients.