Have you heard of Equibit Group? …Most likely not.
Is that because the project was a crypto scam, pump and dump, or not worthwhile? Far from it.
In today’s interview, I am humbled to bring you a very important case study for entrepreneurs who are serious about building on-chain and investors who are carefully vetting the endeavors they choose to support.
Chris Horlacher was the Co-Founder & CEO of Equibit Group from 2015 through 2019. After finally reaching a multimillion-dollar valuation through years of work, and with eager customers lining up to use their technology, Equibit Group was suddenly and inexplicably shattered.
The company was poised to disrupt the securities transfer agent and custodian sector, an industry that costs investors and issuers over $10 billion per year, processing quadrillions of dollars worth of transactions annually.
However, somebody or some group of people clearly did NOT want this to happen.
Despite the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) giving the green light on the project and being backed by the top securities law firm in all of Canada, regulatory progress mysteriously began to evaporate.
Chris says, “They literally told us, Keep going. So we did. And as soon as we started raising money, what we think happened at this point was the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) swatted us. They analyzed what we were building, saw that it would disrupt their financial surveillance system, and decided they don’t want this coming out.”
It never fails to follow the money. It is obvious that Equibit would have emptied the pockets of the few while relieving the extortion of the many. But, it gets much more serious.
I highly encourage you to hear the full story so that you can better hedge your risk as an entrepreneur and investor in the not-so-free market.
As we have seen with projects like Ripple (XRP), the attack of being deemed a security by regulators can be catastrophic for the success of ANY crypto application.
While this can result in devastating effects on a project’s valuation, funding ability, and network effect, it can be quite scary for everyone involved on a personal level.
Chris said, “We went through a hell of a time. The company was infiltrated. We had code lost, stolen, or destroyed. My wife was drugged at a crypto conference in Las Vegas. We were singled out and searched at the airport. We’ve had our home networks broken into or back-doored by the router.”
These attacks could not be any further from the non-aggression principle (NAP) and should be unlawful. Unfortunately, this is one of MANY stories like this that I have heard during my time in crypto.
Though the takedown of Equibit is an extreme case, it is similar to the attacks on Big-Blockers who have fought and died to preserve the original Bitcoin protocol.
Although Equibit is no longer active, Chris has made outstanding progress in documenting the entire experience to build an undeniable case for a lawsuit. Should justice be served, the reparations could lead to a whopping $120,000,000.
Although no amount of money can gain back the time, passion, vision, and sweat equity that Equibit has put forth, a victory for Chris would go down as one of the largest civil judgments in the history of Canada! Talk about a story synonymous with the likes of David and Goliath.
Though these unseen forces have been able to hide this case in the press, a victory like this could cause a shockwave throughout the regulatory world and in the blockchain sector that may be impossible to subdue.
Chris shared, “What I experienced fully convinced me of the truth that there are suppressed inventions and dead inventors out there. People who were on to something that was going to be very disruptive to incumbent industries.”
As we dove into the actual technology that was behind Equibit, it becomes apparent that Chris was well ahead of market innovation. However, Dero (DERO) and the Zero Knowledge Proof Protocols (ZKP) found in Pirate Chain (ARRR) were not in existence at that time.
Therefore, by using these new technologies and applying the wisdom within Chris’s experience, there is absolutely a way to create solutions that serve the people without making yourself a target for similar attacks.
To sum it up, I shared, “I really believe there is a spirit to all of this. It’s humanity’s yearning for freedom, peace, and prosperity throughout the ages that we have FINALLY found the way out through technology.”
There has never been a better time to build, invest, and innovate than now. Watch the full video and share Chris’s story with anyone you know who will find value in his experience.
You can watch the video on Vigilante.tv HERE.
Post originally posted on CryptoVigilante.io