Q&A from one of our advisors, Simon Pearson.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I’m qualified as an accountant (ACA), member of the Chartered Institute of Tax, and have spent more than 15 years in an investment banking and trading environment. I’ve also created, built, and sold a managed account platform in the equities trading sector and seeded four other businesses in financial services.

Tell us about your experience in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

I started investing into exchanges and other crypto projects over the course of 2017, culminating in taking on board advisory roles and then my own project. I was introduced to Evident Proof in June 2017 and took a liking to their project immediately. Since running B21 I have removed all advisory roles but decided to stay on with my favourite.

How did you get involved in Evident Proof?

I was introduced to Evident Proof by a dear friend of mine, Hilton Supra, and as the team was considering a launch in Gibraltar I thought it would be a good project to look at.

What are you responsible for at Evident Proof?

I am a general advisor and have input along the way to their process (with a predominant focus on Gibraltar), along with various elements of the token model which was designed by James Anderson, and with other snippets of insight into service providers. As I have been running my own project, it has been a great thing for a two way dialogue on general matters.

What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for Evident Proof?

The team is top notch and its CEO, Adrian Clarke is a class act with a great pedigree. As such, I’m very excited about the company’s ability to quickly and effectively mold itself to fit the needs of the evolving marketplace, whatever those may be.

What’s the most interesting thing happening in the wider market?

I could split the answer to this in many ways, most of which comes from the most interesting subject matters to me:

• I love the focus on regulation at the moment, especially given that we are based in one of the best global spots to launch a product (well done to Gibraltar for keeping up their forward-thinking approach to industry)

• I love the current developments with established institutions and their continuing entrance into the market. Jon Matonis, a writer focused on this area, recently reported that “I think it’s fabulous that they’re getting into it because it brings in new liquidity. They’re going to develop futures markets, options markets — I even think you’re going to start to see interest-rate markets around bitcoin.” There is a need for the market to mature, and these entrances help make that happen.

• I like the general tech developments, especially those in mining and green energy.

• Most of all, though, I love the positive energy radiating from everyone I meet in the industry. And I do mean everyone!