Korea IT Times celebrates its 20th anniversary with Insightful columns from local and international thought leaders. Following contributions from experts from all walks of life in July, August, September, and October, the column will continue in November and December.
- Jinkook Kim, CEO of Coreline Soft: "Lung Cancer Awareness Month" in November: The No. 1 killer... Early Detection Saves Lives
- Ananth Lazarus, Managing Director, APAC, GTDC: Co-opetition: How Collaboration is Strengthening Cybersecurity Defenses in South Korea
- Jeremy Foo, Global Head of Gaming at TZ APAC: Building a Sustainable Web3 Gaming Ecosystem: Why Real Utility, Fair Play, and Innovation Are Key
- James Toledano, Chief Operating Officer of Unity Wallet: Crypto For Beginners: 4 Things To Know Before Getting Started
- James Lee, Head of the North American Division at Coreline Soft: Coraline Soft and Temple Lung Center, Opening a New Chapter in Lung Health
- Jason Lau, ISACA Board Director: AI in 2024: Balancing Innovation with Security and Ethics
- Byoung Min Im, Columnist: Malaysia's Zuhor State will be the next Singapore
- Alexandre Dreyfus, founder and CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com: Blockchain's Game-Changer Ushers in a New Era of Sports Engagement
By James Toledano
At its core, decentralized finance (DeFi) provides a level playing field and empowers individuals to enhance their financial sovereignty by eliminating reliance on centralized intermediaries by offering access to finance irrespective of their social mobility, status or geography.
At Unity Wallet, we envision a world where managing digital assets is simple and intuitive for everyone, empowering them to thrive in the digital economy. Our mission is to eliminate financial exclusion by providing secure, easy-to-use, decentralized financial services for all.
Self-custody is key
As a champion of self-custody, I advocate full user autonomy to create, transfer, and hold digital assets in a truly decentralized manner. It is crucial to balance protecting clients and giving them autonomy over their financial resources. Instead of placing these assets on centralized exchanges that can run out of liquidity in a crisis, investors must maintain ownership over these assets and their security. However, we learned only last month that cryptocurrencies are not immune to more significant market crises, and the case for self-custody is now more vital than ever because of the ensuing liquidation panic that disrupted centralized exchanges and established brokerages.
Security
There is no doubt that crypto is a riskier asset class due to the magnitude of the pendulum swing from high to low, and there has been a significant increase in the value of stolen funds in 2024 - although this still pales in comparison to TradFi. In order to encourage greater adoption, the industry must address security concerns.
At Unity Wallet, we use industry-leading technology to offer Know Your Transaction (KYT) checks to pave the way for a safer crypto experience. Our KYT feature is designed to enhance user security by reducing the risk of accepting or mixing illicit or tainted funds in otherwise ‘clean’ wallets. Unity Wallet is the only wallet offering this unique service and KYT is a potent and useful tool in ones overall security toolkit Widespread use of KYT and blockchain intelligence services can make the entire blockchain space safer for everyone.
So, where to begin?
I would visit the price tracking website CoinMarketCap.com and look at the long-range data for any given asset. If the data plots like a big dipper roller-coaster ride over time, then it’s probably not ideal for an investment portfolio. With that said, it doesn’t mean that newer assets aren’t worthy of a closer look, but you need to do your homework and focus only on the reality of each asset versus the promise. I always tell people to ABD –Always Be Diligent. We also never give financial advice because these digital assets are so inherently risky. I know it’s trite but seriously, only invest money you can afford to lose and never believe the social media hype. Things are rarely as good as promised.
User-friendly platforms
DeFi’s user experience is flawed because decentralized experiences are inherently ‘clunky’ by nature. Users have to navigate multiple platforms, face technical hurdles, and face confusing processes to manage their assets or else sacrifice security. That’s especially true if they’re looking to engage with fully decentralized processes like decentralized exchanges (DEXs) - these need to be simpler to use, and right now, a level of technical competence and confidence is needed. This needs to be far simpler for broader adoption – we believe this is the case with Unity’s services. To continue to scale DeFi en-masse, we need to ensure that people of all stripes and geographies have greater access, options, and usability. The future of finance will be both centralized and decentralized, with the goal of developing tools that assist in bridging the gap and make it simple for end users to transact between the two.
Our ultimate goal is to create a centralized feel and experience within a decentralized ecosystem. We believe we are succeeding in delivering this to users.
About the Author
James Toledano, Chief Operating Officer of Unity Wallet, was instrumental in launching the world's first legally authorized digital music download service, BRANDNEW MUSIC Co, in partnership with Apple in 1999. He went on to focus on digital anti-piracy efforts using decentralized technologies, helping to lay the foundations for the modern digital music industry.
