“I have some reservations about the direction Ethereum has taken since its inception,” remarked Vinay Gupta, the founder of Mattereum and a former coordinator of Ethereum’s initial release, during a recent AMA session with Cointelegraph. “The initial vision was to leverage blockchain to govern real-world infrastructure, tokenize real-world asset, and create more efficient global economies that deliver essential goods and services with reduced waste and inefficiency. Unfortunately, that vision hasn’t fully materialized.”
With Mattereum, which focuses on asset tokenization, Gupta aims to revisit Ethereum’s original mission and tackle the initial problem. He explained, “We’re not reinventing fractional ownership from scratch. Large publicly traded companies like IBM, Google, or Meta already offer similar options through stocks accessible to everyone. What we’re doing is utilizing blockchain’s efficiency to apply fractional ownership to much smaller and more affordable assets. This brings the benefits of fractional ownership governance to the level where we can deal with individual cars, homes, or works of art, rather than massive power grids, airplanes, or utilities serving hundreds of millions of internet users daily.”
Gupta identified regulatory unpreparedness as one of the reasons Ethereum veered off course, and Mattereum has made it a priority to address this issue. He explained, “Collaborating with lawyers and gaining their support proved to be a lengthy process. It took us four years to complete our first transaction and six years to reach a point where we could securitize assets. Now, it’s possible to legally gain control of almost any asset in most countries entirely within the bounds of the law. This means we can return to the original Ethereum vision and fully implement it.”
In addition to highlighting how tokenization can significantly reduce the time spent on legal and paperwork processes, Gupta shared his vision for the broader benefits it could bring to the world: “Tokenization takes powerful tools from high finance and makes them accessible, replacing massive mortgages and credit card debt. It shifts our society’s debt-based relationships to an equity-based economy with the idea of ‘we collectively own this thing, and we collaborate together.’ In this scenario, I foresee a level of social transformation and revolution greater than what we witnessed with the invention of credit cards and debt. Moreover, collectively-owned societies tend to be more benign and cooperative.”
Regarding potential changes resulting from mass blockchain adoption, Gupta envisions an economic democracy revolution with DAOs playing a central role. He anticipates DAOs becoming as popular as social media platforms, with “governance enthusiasts managing their portfolios.” He stated, “I believe such a transformation is necessary and inevitable for democratizing the world.”
Gupta sees Mattereum as a backend powerhouse similar to how Amazon facilitated the launch of countless businesses worldwide. He elaborated, “Any entity with specific expertise can bring a deal to Mattereum for evaluation, exploration of possibilities, and ultimately, to secure and fractionalize it as Mattereum Asset Passports. So, any company looking to make assets transactional or create businesses with backend transactions can reach out to us.”
Mattereum Asset Passports, as Gupta mentioned, are NFTs that attest to the value of physical objects. They come with a built-in legal layer, providing a warranty claim mechanism that addresses liability. Gupta provided more insights into Mattereum’s flagship Asset Passports: “We record legally binding commitments from various third parties about the goods being sold on the blockchain. If any of these commitments are found to be inaccurate, the third parties are held accountable.”
He stressed, “It’s important to note that these third parties are the ones managing risk in the deal and covering the costs. They put up funds, which can be held in on-chain escrow contracts, to ensure buyers are protected from fraud. This is how we ensure that all assets on the blockchain are legitimate.”
In conclusion, Gupta expressed his firm belief that transitioning from a debt-based economy to an asset-based one and implementing a transparent financial infrastructure can help solve many of the world’s political issues. He summarized the AMA session by saying, “It is still possible to realize Ethereum’s original vision, but it requires a substantial bridge, which Mattereum can become. I envision Mattereum as an integral part of the global financial infrastructure, much like Swift or Visa.”
