BMJ Score: 4.1
Market
Transparency
Team
Token
Adoption
Quick Summary
117 crypto investors read thisCommentary
While the digitization of our world has lowered operational costs and increased efficiency, it has also brought with it an increase of cybercrime, data manipulation, and identity theft. V-ID aims to combat document fraud by creating a blockchain-based platform to validate a file’s authenticity in under five seconds. We are impressed with V-ID’s fully functional product (which has been operational since 2017) as well as their multiple clients including Airbus Defense and Space, the European Research Institute, and the optical fiber supplier VitrumNet. We are confident that V-ID will leverage blockchain technology’s full potential to ensure that society’s digital advancements are not held back by sophisticated attacks. Our main concern is around lack of marketing, but we look forward to seeing them step up their marketing as word gets out about this exciting project.
Investment Information:
- How to invest: V-ID has a dedicated website where you can register for the presale.
- Discount: Sep 15th - Sep 19th - 35% Bonus; Sep 20th - Sep 24th - 25% Bonus; Sep 25th - Sep 29th - 15% Bonus; Sep 30th - Oct 4th - 10% Bonus; Oct 5th - Oct 15th - 5% Bonus
- Eligibility: Citizens of the U.S. may not participate.
- Token Price: VIDT token price $ 0.20
- Jurisdiction: The Netherlands
Market: 5
- Problem addressed/solved: One of the downsides of the digitalization of society is the difficulty in combating fraud with digital files. Hundreds of thousands of fake documents and online profiles trick consumers and businesses every year. As the internet has grown over the past 20 years, hackers have only gotten better at creating fraudulent documents to commit various crimes.
- Target customers/customer/ segments/verticals: V-ID already has a few clients that are listed below. Their major consumers will be businesses that deal with sensitive documents which, if tampered with, put many people at risk. A few examples include wealth management companies, hospitals, or laboratories. Having said that, this tech is really applicable to all those companies who want to ensure the safety of their documents and overall business.
- Value creation: V-ID is a service that uses blockchain technology to make fraud with digital files impossible. V-ID users can be divided into two groups: creators and receivers. Once a creator registers a file in V-ID, this file’s authenticity can then be verified by the recipient. V-ID’s validation process guarantees that the person registering the file actually represents the organization issuing the file. V-ID does not save a copy of a validated file and therefore complies with GDPR guidelines.
- Competition: The secret is out; blockchain will become one of the most valuable solutions for verification and fraud prevention. Startups like Gradbase and Skillchain focus on resume verification, while others like Digusign leave the validation process to the users. V-ID will have its hands full competing with other startups and some more established companies like Adobe and Signix, but they believe they have distinct advantages that will help them get a foothold in the market. A detailed synopsis of their competitive analysis can be found on page 29 of the whitepaper.
- Market size/potential: The potential market for V-ID is virtually unlimited and growing rapidly. Worldwide digitalization ensures that paper file fraud is increasingly moving to digital file fraud. The validation service is still new and unique. V-ID wants to provide the simplest, most scalable, and generically applicable solution for consumers so that it can one day become the standard for all.
- Regulatory risks: The project must ensure GDPR mandates are met through blockchain security for the transfer of files and data.
Transparency: 4
- Investor value: The VIDT token will be used in conjunction with smart contracts to create digital fingerprints and allow for the verification of various documents. Its value will derive from the demand for its services. V-ID additionally offers a buyback program a few years after the ICO. For more information as to why V-ID might be worth your dollars, visit the V-ID “Why invest in VIDT tokens?” page.
- Disclosures: V-ID has a slightly above average, 49-page whitepaper, but it’s not the whitepaper that impresses. V-ID answers the hard hitting questions on their “About V-ID” tab. They go into detail as to how the blockchain is integrated in their project and why V-ID is needed in society. For those who want more technical proof of concept, they also offer a smart contract audit in the form of a PDF.
- Token distribution: 12% Private Sale, 50% Token Sale, 25% Validation, 3% Team, 2% Advisors, and 8% Bounty & Airdrop.
- Use of proceeds: 30% Marketing, 25% Operations, 30% Development, 10% Team, and 5% Advisors.
- Caps: Soft cap: $1 million USD; Hard cap: $8 million USD
Team: 3.5
- Track record: Many members of the team have previous work experience together, whether that’s at Seagull Software (CEO’s prior venture) or Wididi B.V. They all have LinkedIn profiles, but many are lackluster and don’t demonstrate the years of experience you would wish to see from the team. The V-ID project is led by an impressive CEO, Mr. Wico van Helden. He’s a proven entrepreneur who started Seagull Software, which was founded in 1990, went public in 2005, and sold in 2008. V-ID’s lead developer, Marnix van den Berg, worked as a lead developer for Wididi B.V. for over 10 years. He worked with major clients such as Allianz, BMW dealers, and EVO.
- Integrity: V-ID founders distribute a microscopic percentage of the tokens to themselves and additionally freeze those tokens for 5 years with a 20% annual release. They all represent professionalism in their LinkedIn profiles and website bios. The team is a bit lopsided in the sense that a few members have tremendous experience in their respective fields while others are fresh to the working world. The veterans of the team will need to lead everyone else in the right direction in order for the project to be successful.
- Wico van Helden, CEO
- Marnix van den Berg, Lead Development
- Pim Voets, Lead Concept Design
Team Members
Token Mechanics: 4.5
- MVP: A beta version of the Token Sale platform for overview and management of credits has been in operation since May 2018. The first version of the V-ID token was developed in Q1 of 2018 and a soft launch of this Utility Token already took place in Q2 of 2018. A full beta version of the Validation Platform is planned for Q4 2018.
- Token use: The V-ID token is at the heart of the platform, providing both the most efficient way of micro payment and securely storing the V-ID data in the Ethereum blockchain. V-ID does not depend on further potential or adoption but thrives on the security and immutability of the current leading blockchains (Bitcoin and Ethereum).
- Value-added: The V-ID Utility Token offers a concrete added value in identifying issuing organizations, saving digital fingerprints in a smart contract, and processing payments for validating. The combination of the VIDT token and smart contract for digital fingerprints makes this project unique and gives the token its most valuable aspect.
- Decentralization: V-ID does not explicitly state the nature of its decentralization. It seems the blockchain will be more of a verification tool on the platform versus a decentralized peer-to-peer verification network, a system that some other startups are pursuing.
- Token Supply: Max VIDT token=100 million
User Adoption: 3
- Technical difficulty/investment expertise needed: V-ID has a video labeled “V-ID in 90 seconds” on the front page of its site to give a comprehensive overview of what V-ID is and what it can do for its consumers. The video can be found on the website at the following link.
- Halo effect: V-ID has yet to acquire partnerships, but their marketing plan states that will be a top priority in the future. A few of their current clients include the likes of Airbus Defence & Space, JWC Super Yachts, and VitrumNet.
- Buzz: V-ID won’t immediately impress you with its social media following, but the active engagement on their Twitter (1,100), Facebook (677), and Telegram (1,204) makes up for it just a bit. It’s common to find ICO projects with thousands of followers across social media sites, but their engagement will prove extremely low because most of those followers were purchased. V-ID is certainly not faking their followers.
