Informational Report on Rivetz
This is a live document and will be updated based on most recent information.
The following report is NOT intended as advice to purchase software tokens. This report is presented for informational purposes only. ALWAYS conduct your own research before buying digital tokens associated with a software project during a crowdsale.
TL;DR
Rivetz improves the security of blockchain based token communications between mobile devices, exchanges, wallets, and more. The Rivetz technology in short, amplifies two-factor security by hard wiring it into your phone or computer. Rivetz https://rivetzintl.com/ accomplishes this by leveraging the TEE “Trusted Execution Environment” (a chip that comes embedded in most modern mobile devices and computers), which is ideal for sending secure blockchain transactions. The technology promises to make the hacking a crypto user account substantially more difficult, requiring the attacker to physically acquire and hold the users device, rather than just having their log in details. The Rivetz project has adopted a Decentralized Applications model and is holding a software token sale starting August 10th 2017.
Token Details, Whitepaper, Blog, Developer Links here:
Token Details: https://rivetzintl.com/
White paper: https://rivetzintl.com/rvt-white-paper-1.02.pdf
Blog: https://rivetz.com/index.php/blog
Developers: https://rivetz.com/docs/getstarted.html
Summary:
The Rivetz sale of RvTs software is especially exciting to me as I’ve known about the project since 2014 and followed its evolution from prototype to production technology used by enterprise scale customers. I had suggested the Decentralized Application token model to Steven Sprague the CEO of Rivetz back in 2014, as a means of expanding the community of what I consider a foundational technology in the blockchain space. The infrastructure is now in place to launch Rivetz as a token, as the platforms finally came together to structure this project as a Decentralized Application. So when Steven let me know they had decided to move forward with the Dapps model for Rivetz, I was glad to become an advisor and friend of the project. I’ve compiled this informational report similar to those I created at the launch of Ethereum, SAFE Network, Factom and other projects I see as important infrastructure that will move the blockchain ecosystem in a positive direction.
Problem & Solution - Value Proposition:
Security ought to be built in. Strong passwords and email verifications aren’t enough to secure our digital assets. About a month ago attacks in the industry intensified and I received calls nightly for a week from friends who’s email, Skype or crypto accounts had been compromised and wanted to know how to improve their security. And, while there are best practices that can reduce your risks, there are better ways for our industry to securely serve more people than counting on everyone to become security savvy.
As I’ve heard Steven explain many times the past three years, the way “network” security is done today, is fundamentally flawed. This wisdom has certainly shown to be true the last few years as the list of high profile hacks grows ever longer.
Rivetz offers to shift the approach from a “Network” based security model, to a “Device” based security model. Simply stated, if an exchange for example can identify with near 100% confidence the identity and reputation of the device making a withdrawal request, then theft via fraudulent withdrawals could be massively reduced, because stealing physical devices is much more difficult and expensive than what hackers do today, with password guessing or tricking a user into sharing their log in details.
Solving the security epidemic in the blockchain space and beyond is going to be key to serving main stream users and transitioning the world’s wealth to digital assets. That’s one of the fundamental reasons I believe Rivetz is an important part of blockchain infrastructure, solving real world problems, with greater efficiency than previously possible.
Token Sale Facts in Bullet Points:
Rivetz Token Distribution Post Software Sale:
Founders / Top Executives Linkedin Profiles / Backgrounds:
The Rivetz team includes many members who are veterans of the distributed computing space and early blockchain technologists. See full team here.
Steven Sprague CEO Co-Founder: Considered one of the founders of the Trusted Computing Industry since 1998.
Michael Sprague CTO & Co-Founder: 5+ years at Wave Systems an early Trusted Execution Environment pioneer.
Sean Gilligan VP Engineering: Developer on the Omni Protocol since 2014 and Tether.to since 2015, helping support the issuing of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets on the Bitcoin blockchain.
George Gilder Board Member: Famous thought leader in economics / tech.
Advisory Team:
Rivetz’s advisors include experts in Ethereum Technology, Fintech Regulation, Investing in the Blockchain Space and advocates of Decentralization.
John Edge: Expert in capital markets, fintech, and digital identity.
Gavin Wood at Parity Technologies: Co-founder of Ethereum.
Matthew Roszak: 20 years in private and venture investment.
Myself: In the blockchain space in 2012 as an investor, board member and advocate for Decentralization.
Economics:
In brief, the RvT token is required for anyone requesting to verify a device from the Rivetz network. For example an exchange checking the device identity of one of its customers would have to send RvT tokens to the Rivetz smart contract, which would trigger the attestation process.
Technical Description:
Rivetz has a pretty robust technical section that is worth reading to understand the approach they are taking with the Trusted Execution Environments. Here is the link, certainly worth a read and the video is very informative. https://rivetzintl.com/technology
Risks, Challenges and Issues:
- Significant Capital Required; This is a long term project that will require building a robust network effect and strong developer community, as such it will require significant capital in order to fulfill its potential.
- More Support Will Need Required; Up until recently the focus of the Rivetz project has been on enterprise users, however by establishing its token model the set of users who will want support will broaden to include earlier stage companies and developers.
- Dependent on Chip Makers; Access by Rivetz to the Trusted Execution Environment is dependent on permission from Intel, AMD, and other chip makers. Should these chip makers choose to withdrawal Rivetz access to the TEE environment it would limit Rivetz ability to serve customers in the market.
- Dependent on Ethereum Platform; In order for Rivetz token model and decentralized approach to provide attestation to function it depends on the continued operation of the Ethereum platform.
- Smart Contract Code Risk; Rivetz is leveraging a smart contract to preform the attestation function and if there is a bug or other problem with the code of the contract then this may cause an interruption of the Rivetz service or even failure in the attestation process.
- Regulation; Classification of the Rivetz token by regulators as something other than a software license token could make it difficult to send, hold, trade and otherwise perform the intended functions of the Rivetz technology.
Disclosures PLEASE READ:
I’m an advisor to the Rivetz project, so this should be considered a friendly report based on my research into the team, technology and use cases.
The following report is NOT intended as advice to purchase software tokens. This report is presented for informational purposes only. ALWAYS conduct your own research before buying digital tokens associated with a software project during a crowdsale.
