Peter Curk, CEO, ICONOMI
Today we're meeting Peter Curk, the CEO of ICONOMI, the leading crypto investment platform that simplifies access to digital assets for everyone.
Over to you Peter - my questions are in bold:
Who are you and what's your background?
First and foremost, I'm a father, and that takes up most of my limited spare time. Spending time with my family is really important to me, so a lot of my other interests have fallen away over the years. But beyond that, I'm also a passionate Moto Guzzi driver and avid learner. I like to learn new things and read just about anything.
What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?
I am the CEO of ICONOMI, so I oversee all company activities. At a basic level, that simply means managing people and strategizing, but when you drill down, it's everything from decision making and implementation to resource management and value fulfilment. One of my most important roles revolves around finding the best people for my business, because they're what makes ICONOMI great. Without our amazing team putting ideas into action, we'd be a very different company.
Can you give us an overview of your business?
ICONOMI is a platform designed to help individuals and businesses invest in crypto-assets. Our aim is to make the process as simple and accessible as possible, so that anyone -- even those without any prior experience in the field -- can benefit from crypto investment. But we're also a regulatory-first organisation, ensuring a robust infrastructure to provide our users with as much protection as possible.
Tell us how you are funded?
ICONOMI is backed by more than 400 individual shareholders to whom we pay out regular dividends.
What's the origin story? Why did you start the company? To solve what problems?
ICONOMI began in 2016 when crypto was still largely unexplored territory. It was a fascinating new world, but intimidating at the same time because it brought with it an entirely new language and new way of doing things. Tim and Jani, the founders, saw an opportunity to bridge a gap, creating a platform that made it easy for people to start investing in crypto without navigating the complexities that often come with it, without even really having to be tech-savvy.
ICONOMI was one of the first platforms to let people invest and manage their crypto investments without needing to be experts. Our mission remains to make digital asset investments and management simple, secure, and transparent for retail and institutional users.
Who are your target customers? What's your revenue model?
Anyone can use ICONOMI. But our core target is non-crypto natives who want to begin investing in cryptocurrency. Most of our clients are aged 35-60.
If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?
Right now, B2B settlement processes are very cumbersome. The traditional methods take time, people and unnecessary costs. With blockchain, that process is already being disrupted. Blockchains are replacing all that at a fraction of the cost, and by doing so, they free up capital that can be put to better use.
What is your message for the larger players in the Financial Services marketplace?
At the risk of self-promotion, I'd have to say, partner with ICONOMI! We can provide any trad-fi institution with the technology and experience to enable it to leapfrog to the forefront of crypto. If a business wants to move towards tokenised assets and find its feet within the crypto arena, we can help them to do it as simply and cost-effectively as possible.
Where do you get your Financial Services/FinTech industry news from?
Like most people now, I gain most of my fintech news online, but I do try to attend a couple of conferences each year too. There is a lot of content out there. The challenge is how to filter out the good ones. I usually start following an outlet/creator and, after 6-12 months, evaluate if the author is consistent in its quality. For daily news, I just simply screen my newsletter titles in the dedicated inbox loader.
Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech and/or Financial Services sector that we should be following on LinkedIn, and why?
I always find interesting insights when listening or reading about Nikolay Storonsky, the co-founder of Revolut co-founder. And 10x Research is great for general crypto news. I also regularly check in with the Kiffmeister Chronicles when I want to touch base with what's going on in the central bank digital currency (CBDB) field. But there are many more, I could be here all day, listing interesting resources.
What FinTech services (and/or apps) do you personally use?
I obviously use ICONOMI for investing in crypto! Then there are a couple of banking/payment apps that I wouldn't be without – like Revolut in the UK, Bunq in the NL and Flik, an instant payments app in Slovenia.
What's the best new FinTech product or service you've seen recently?
One of the best products I've seen recently is Hyperliquid. It's an on-chain crypto-exchange with great user interaction. I love the fully on-chain design, which is something I've not seen before – it may actually be the first true on-chain exchange. And it's got a very interesting business model. It's one to check out if you're interested in crypto.
Finally, let's talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?
From a crypto perspective, I believe we are entering a consolidation phase. Regulation is taking a toll, and small players will not be able to scale and bear the additional costs this brings to the business. While regulation is unarguably a must, it will have a significant impact on the smaller players. For the UK, this might be a good thing though – watching how things are playing out in the EU gives the UK the opportunity to take a different approach and potentially secure a better position within the market.
Thank you very much for participating Peter!
You can read more about Peter Curk on LinkedIn and find out more about his company ICONOMI at http://www.iconomi.com.