Crypto Society AMA recap with Bird.Money -19th August 2021

17 min readAug 21, 2021

Bilo | Crypto Society

Hi Daniel, it is our pleasure to welcome you with us today. I would also like to welcome you here on behalf of our entire community.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Happy to be here. I’ve been following the community for quite some time.

Love what you guys have built here.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Could we begin with a brief history of yourself and your career that led you to where you are today?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

I’ve worked in Data Science for over 15 years. My career began in large corporations, like Travelers (a major insurance company in the US) and Google. This is where some of the earliest ideas for Bird originated, actually. But we’ll get to that later…

I left corporate because I felt I could make a larger impact with my skills in smaller companies, which turned out to be true. In under a year as CTO for a biotech company, we were able to use analytics to improve everything from laboratory ops to HR. It was really fulfilling.

I’ve always loved innovating. I’ve always been very curious. That’s ultimately what’s so attractive to me about start-ups and crypto. So much of the work done in those settings has never been done before. And so much innovation comes from applying something you’ve learned in one area, to a completely new one. One of the weirdest examples of this was from my days in college. I somehow managed to convince my professors to let me apply Economic Game Theory to my English Literature classes. Next thing we know, my professors and I are part of just a few people on earth that were using math in literary criticism.

My start in crypto came in 2015 when I began learning ethereum mining. This was a great entry point for me because I got to see how it all works from the inside out, consensus algos, hashing, etc. This led me to trading and I quickly began building bots using deep learning models. Then in 2018–2019, I began actually working on crypto startups. One of the most notable was Pawtocol (you can find them on CMC). Alongside their founder, Karim, I led that team for about 6 months. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced me to take a major consulting contract and I had to step away for a while but it was still a great opportunity for me to learn how to build a crypto company.

I live in the sunny Miami area in Florida with my long-time girlfriend and a couple of dogs. I love adventure sports and travel. In fact, just a few weeks ago we were able to SCUBA dive with sharks in the Caribbean. It was incredible. A few fun facts about me: I’m in the Guinness book of world records for SCUBA diving and I once competed on television in the US national rock paper scissors tournament

Bilo | Crypto Society

For those unfamiliar with BIRD, how would you describe BIRD if you were talking to someone unfamiliar with digital assets?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

This is definitely tough. What we’re doing is so unique. It’s best to start with a brief intro on how data science is used today by big tech companies like Google and Facebook. In a way, the platforms these companies have built are just the world’s largest databases. Everything we do is tracked by them and used by smart data scientists to make models that predict our behaviours or preferences. Those predictions are then used to build an online experience that’s been optimized specifically for each of us. We see the ads we like most, articles we’re most likely to read, etc. Sounds great, right? It was, for a while…

In a way, the platforms these companies have built are just the world’s largest databases. Everything we do is tracked by them and used by smart data scientists to make models that predict our behaviours or preferences. Those predictions are then used to build an online experience that’s been optimized specifically for each of us. We see the ads we like most, articles we’re most likely to read, etc. Sounds great, right? It was, for a while…

These predictions have become so powerful that they’re literally shaping our culture, what we think, who we elect, etc. The problem isn’t the prediction itself though. It’s the ecosystem that’s creating it. These predictions can’t be made without the user data we provide. Period. Just not possible. So, if we’re so important to a process that’s affecting our lives and making billions of dollars, why do we just get a free gmail account in return?

That’s where Bird comes in. We’re using decentralized technology to build an ecosystem capable of producing these powerful behavioural prediction products, but in a way that gives more of the rights (profit) and responsibilities (governance or control) back to the users. We’re building a model for the next generation of tech businesses. We see a future where decentralized applications will be customized for each user, in much the same way our Google or Facebook experience is now. We just want to do it more responsibly and fairly.

that’s our essence

Bilo | Crypto Society

This next question becomes somewhat redundant but in trying to reinforce the message even further, can you tell us about why you thought BIRD needed to be built and what problem it solves?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Absolutely.

Maybe we can dive into a few specific examples that we’re solving for today.

Right now, dapps all behave the same no matter what user is connected. For some, that makes sense and it may always make sense. But for others, it really doesn’t.

…make sense. But for others, it really doesn’t.

Bilo | Crypto Society,

sure — I can see that

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Take lending as an example. Hundreds of millions of people don’t have access to a bank account and therefore a loan that they could use to better their life. Crypto can change that, but not if the only loan structure we offer is an overcollateralized loan. To solve this problem, we need to treat responsible borrowers differently than irresponsible ones. With the credit scoring products we’re building, lending platforms can begin building new lending products that more people can use to improve their lives, their businesses, etc. This is because when a “good” borrower connects their wallet, dapp developers can offer them different lending terms based on the credit scores we provide.

We’re doing something similar for launchpads. Not all IDO investors are the same. Some hold their tokens for years, provide liquidity to DEXs, etc. But, some just dump at the first sign of profit. With our investor scoring products, start-ups that are fundraising can offer the best terms to the best investors. The more supportive, “good” investors a young project has, the better its chances are at succeeding.

We’re also exploring blockchain ecommerce. You can test this one for yourself. Head on over to shopping.io and connect a wallet with nothing in it, then connect one with as much money as you have. You’ll see that your search results don’t change. Sure, dapps are just in their infancy, but this isn’t a great UX. It will evolve, thanks to Bird. Because it just doesn’t make sense to offer a $20 watch to a millionaire that’s looking to buy a new watch.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Great idea!

I am very excited about this feature. Everyone wins, the real long-term presale/seed investors that invested because they believe in the project, the project as well as the retail investors that don’t get dumped on… Brilliant

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Yes, me too. This is a product that our team is really excited about. So many great projects suffer at the hands of investors that are just looking for a quick profit.

We’re building products that will allow dapp developers to create a user experience that’s customized for each wallet that connects because for the decentralized world to compete with legacy tech, we need to build a better UX. But more importantly, we’re doing all this in a way that ensures that the users are rewarded for the data that makes it all possible and also have a say in the process.

Bilo | Crypto Society

What chain have you built on and why?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

We built on Ethereum first.

Bilo | Crypto Society

What’s that? is that a new project?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Oh yes, perhaps you’ve heard of it? It was created by an alien lifeform named Vitalik.

Tons of respect for Vitalik. True visionary.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Since our products are for developers, and the majority of development was happening on Eth, this just made a lot of sense.

Bilo | Crypto Society

What other chains have you built on? or planning to?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Right now, we’re in the last stages of deploying on BSC. Interoperability is a major focal point for us so we’re already looking at the next network after BSC. We’ll likely announce our plans in just a few weeks.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Awesome — Can’t wait to hear more.

Which chains are you able to service with your Oracle?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

ETH today, BSC very soon and then……

Well that you’ll have to wait and see 😉

But, it will probably be a team you know very well, Bilo.

Bilo | Crypto Society

When it comes to Oracles, most people immediately think “price feeds” but there is a lot more to it isn’t there? Care to share your thoughts on this?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Would LOVE to

Bilo | Crypto Society

Haha. Somehow I thought you would 🤓

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

We believe that prices and random numbers are just the first step in the evolution of decentralized oracles.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Making data available on-chain will be vital to how blockchain grows. There are already a few projects out there that are pushing the envelope when it comes to exposing new data types to dapp developers, even though they’re not oracles in a traditional sense, like provable.xyz and API3 with their decentralized API data streams. We see Bird as the next step in that evolution. We’re delivering cutting-edge analytics through a decentralized oracle interface.

If you step back, this is all a fairly ordinary progression for any new technology platform. First, it can handle a piece of information (a price). Next, it can handle a collection of information (a data stream). And finally, it will be capable of performing complex operations on a collection of information to produce a result (analytics).

Bilo | Crypto Society

What technology is being used to assure privacy and security of data?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

If I’ve taken one learning from my career in technology, it’s that to be successful you have to build from the ground up, one layer at a time. User data privacy and security is easily one of the most important fields in all of technology today. Bird is keenly aware of this. But, we’re also keenly aware that a lot of smart people are currently working on this.

To allow us to focus on our core business, our first stage is to build only with publicly available on-chain data. That allows us to rely on the network to ensure security. It also allows the broader research community time for their work to mature.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money, [19 Aug 2021 at 19:34:13]:

Once we begin to incorporate more sensitive, non-public data, we’ll begin deploying some exciting new privacy-preserving technologies, such as federated learning, and secure data storage, like IPFS or swarm. One area I’m particularly eager to watch evolve is on-chain computation from teams like TrueBit. Ultimately, all the building blocks are out there.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Smart — this way you test as you go without potential breach of security while you build up your product line. Brilliant!

Back to basics — What will the BIRD token be used for?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

The BIRD token is a governance token. It will enable holders to participate in DAO governance over the ecosystem. We’re actually working with legal counsel as we speak to more clearly outline the benefits that holders can expect, so I don’t want to go too much further. But, what I can say is that holding BIRD gives you a “seat at the table” where we’ll be building for the online UX of the future. I’m obviously biased, but that’s definitely a pretty cool table to be seated at.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Tell us about your lending app please. How does that work?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Our lending dapp operates very similarly to Compound. We offer non-custodial digital asset loans. The primary reason that we built it is to serve as a “proving grounds” for our credit scoring models. We’ll use it to demonstrate to the community and to our partners that our models can reliably assess credit risk.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Why is the blockchain unique as a data structure from which to build predictive models

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

As a data scientist, I’m always a bit surprised at how thin the research is around machine learning and blockchain.

In a way, it’s every data scientist’s dream dataset because everything is tracked and the tracking is 100% trustworthy.

Bilo | Crypto Society

can’t hide what’s onchain right?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Every action, and how each action relates to every other action is all recorded. There is no “bad data” that needs to be cleaned on the blockchain. When building models, the majority of the effort goes into creating clean datasets that contain relationships. A good chunk of that work is eliminated, leading to more time spent on analytical problem solving and less on data engineering.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Precisely

Can’t mess with it either

Bilo | Crypto Society

That’s why we love it isn’t it? 😊

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

So many reasons….so many…

Bilo | Crypto Society

Does bird qualify as DEFI and if so, why?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Definitely.

Perhaps most obviously, because our products are for DeFi platforms, like lending and launchpads.

But IMO, DeFi is also about a mission to disintermediate, or to cut out the middleman, so each party maintains more of the control and reward associated with an interaction. We’re just cutting out a different “middleman” from a different type of interaction.

Bilo | Crypto Society

I have to say; Best definition of DEFI I have heard so far

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Now you’re going to make me blush…

Right now, big tech companies have all the control and all the reward in each online interaction we have with their platforms. So the “middlemen” here are the ops directors that decide what data will be used in a model or the finance directors that decide how revenue will be generated and used. We’re putting that back in the hands of the users so they have more influence over their online experience in this context.

Bilo | Crypto Society

I KNOW you will love this next question

What role do you see bird playing in the evolution from web2 to web3?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

This is definitely a big one.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

To really get Bird, you have to get this idea.

So, it might help to first talk about what those terms mean.

There are lots of definitions out there, but I like to think of it in terms of information flows. In Web1.0, it didn’t really flow at all. A website was a relatively static device that only its owners could update. In Web2.0, it became more of a two-way street: information could move back and forth between site owners and the site users who post to it. I like to think of Web3.0 as an “infinite intersection” where information is connected between many sites and their users.

Web2.0 only realized its full potential when all of that content being created and uploaded by users could be arranged in a way that accomplished an objective. Get a click, make a purchase, read an article. As we discussed earlier, that happened thanks to advances in statistics and computation (i.e., machine learning).

Bilo | Crypto Society

any AI in the mix?

ah — you beat me to it… ah — you beat me to it…

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

I’m quick. Like a ninja.

We believe the same will be said for Web3.0. It will only realize its full potential when we have methods to use all of the information flowing through that infinite intersection to create entirely new online experiences. We’re one of the first, or maybe the first, to start really building the tools dapp developers will need to create that future UX

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Alright, now you’re just showing off 🤣

Bilo | Crypto Society

hahahaha

Bilo | Crypto Society

great explanation — thanks

Are you working on some more exchange listings or is it more of a decentralized “DEX” scenario that you like to pursue?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

We’re really fortunate to have a great relationship with a company that provides market support. In fact, they were the first to be fully licensed in France for these activities. One of the benefits we enjoy through that is we have an open door with several major exchanges. So while next up on our list is another DEX (Pancake Swap), we also understand that CEXs are important for those newer to crypto.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Really good to learn this. Thanks

Are there mechanisms in place to reward people or communities for adding value to the ecosystem?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Sure we can do that one

Right now we have many of the common mechanisms you see across crypto, like farming and staking.

But our long-term vision is to create incentive structures that promote a wide array of contributions from platform users, token holders, and data providers.

One area I’ve spent considerable time in over my career is behavioural economics. We’re drawing a lot from that field to build self-sustaining mechanisms for how data is managed and analytical activities are executed. This is some of our most cutting-edge stuff so for now, I can’t say much more, other than this is one of the most important aspects of what we’re building.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Tell us a little more about your governance process.

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

There’s an in-depth discussion of our thoughts around governance in the research paper we published recently. I’d recommend anyone interested in learning more give it a read:

https://bird.money/static/bird-new/pdfs/birdmoney_yellowpaper_onchain_credit_risk_scores_v1.pdf

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

We’re taking the design of our governance model very seriously. DAOs are a relatively new innovation and we’ve already seen examples of unintended consequences. So our approach will be to gradually introduce increasingly meaningful governance mechanisms over time as our ecosystem grows, but more importantly, as the broader community’s understanding of this exciting new org structure grows.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Great stuff! Thanks

What are you currently working on and can you describe your future roadmap?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Our development resources are deployed in two areas at the moment. Cross-chain and data engineering. We’re wrapping up our BSC integration now and our blockchain engineers will be moving on to the next integration after that. On the data science side, we’re building out our team and the initial data architecture required for model development.

We’re actually revamping our roadmap as we speak. In the next week or so, a new version will be live on our site. The goal with this revision is to lay out a much longer time horizon for the future of our project.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Not everyone may know this but Congratulations on your CEO position at BIRD. With this new challenge, I’m sure you have made extensive evaluations and are in the midst of making the necessary decisions to ensure BIRD’s continued success in an environment where innovation and staying ahead is key

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Thanks, Bilo. I’m really excited to have the chance to lead such a great team.

Bilo | Crypto Society

What do you look for in strategic partnerships?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

The obvious stuff of course. Mutually beneficial tech or business models.

But for me, it’s more about vision. I like to work with people that see the future as a place that we can make brighter, that see our current problems as opportunities. A shared set of values and vision is so important to building relationships.

Fortunately, most that we speak with in crypto see the world in a similar way and how Bird can be a big part of making at least our online future a bit brighter.

Bilo | Crypto Society

Great vision. congratulations Sir

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Sir is my dad. You can call me Dan 😉

Bilo | Crypto Society

Is there any exclusive breaking news about BIRD that you could share with us here today?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Actually, we’re thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with this wonderful community!

Bilo, I have to say that I’ve enjoyed all of our late-night phone calls the past few weeks. The network and expertise your team brings to the table, and the amazing following you’ve built here, will certainly help Bird reach new heights.

Bilo | Crypto Society

We are so very honoured to be a part of this great project and to work with a visionary such as yourself and your team❤️

Bilo | Crypto Society

Thank you so much!!! The feeling is mutual

Do you wish to let us know anything else that was not covered in the questions above?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

I’m a die-hard follower of the Pomp podcast. I love how he ends each interview, and one of his questions is actually perfect for the conversation we’ve been having.

The book that’s had the greatest impact on me as of late is Shoshana Zuboff’s “Surveillance Capitalism”. I strongly recommend it to anyone that is curious to dive deeper into what really motivates Bird.

Oh, and, aliens are definitely out there somewhere…

— — — — — -

Inu Yasha

Are you afraid someday there will be another project with more innovative technology can replace your project?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

This is a GREAT question.

We’re always keeping an eye on the competition. But, business models based on big data and machine learning have significant network effect benefits. The first mover gets to build the first models, that attract more users and more data. More data create better models, rinse repeat.

This helps create a competitive advantage that can naturally guard against someone trying to sneak up and eat Bird’s lunch.

Kevin De Bruyne

Non-crypto user is very important for mainstream adoption. How you are planning to attract non-crypto users towards your project? Is there any upcoming partnership that will brings non-crypto user and real-use case?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Another good one.

Keep in mind that we’re actually more B2B oriented. Our goal is to attract developers to our oracle. This suggests a very different approach to how we market our business.

The nice part about this is we have a much smaller audience to speak to initially and they tend to respond to action. We’re just beginning to get our message out there, but ultimately, our work is what strong developers will be looking for.

Zara

Many DeFi projects face many UI/UX constraints and challenges. How do you plan to improve the user experience and make your platform easy to use?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

This is precisely what we’re addressing. Ultimately, things like how to interact with signatures or token transfers aren’t something we’re working on, but at the end of the day, we have one goal: to port over the best parts of the individualized UX that Web2.0 has, without the bad parts brought on by centralization.

So, ease-of-use, that’s more for the platform developers. We want to focus on relevancy-of-use, or that the platform can be made specifically for you.

Alicia

how safe is your platform guys? has there been any Audit so that its safe from bugs and smart contract is fully audited?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

So many audits. We’re performing our third audit on the BSC bridge as we speak.

Security is paramount for Bird. We’re always looking for ways to improve. We’ll likely be launching some form of a bug bounty in the near future too.

Chief

Can you indicate a feature or feature that you like best about the platform so that it can compete with other competitors? What are you most confident about for your platform? Do you have plans to get users to choose your platform?

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

I’m a data scientist at heart. So the potential to start delivering this kind of value to dapp developers is really exciting. I also think that by broadening the scope of an Oracle so dramatically will inspire others to think of oracles in new ways.

Alben

How do we invest in the project? Do we have locking period or a minimum requirement to be eligible??

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

You can buy our token on Uniswap, Gate.io, Bitcoin.com or Bilaxy

Bilo

Awesome work Dan.

Thank you for your time in answering our questions here today. We are all very appreciaciative of your time and of the answers you have provided.

Thank you everyone for your involvement. Will reopen the chat. The 5 winners will be contacted for their prizes

Congratulations to the winners @tuankhaii @tuantri @Zara_Adisty @benhuk1 @hieuhoang8

Daniel | CEO Bird.Money

Thanks SO MUCH all! Love the enthusiasm!

Check out our tg or our website for a complete digest of our socials.