Hunter CEO Interview Q&A With Austrian Federal Economic Chamber - Seite 2

Is there real value in using blockchain technology for what you are trying to achieve?
Blockchain, like any technology, is neutral. It can be used for good and bad and applied to solve real problems or be a mere gimmick. As a rule, we apply blockchain in our solutions where it is the best technology to solve a problem. The standardized, reliable, and trusted recording of production and transaction data is one such area where the qualities of blockchain technology such as immutability and decentralization of records are truly valuable. Another example is digital contracts: by using blockchain to create smart contracts that combine machine and human readability, agreements become digital with the potential for automation of processes. At the same time, leveraging cryptographic signatures ensures legal enforcement.

Beyond that and looking further into the future, there will be more and more innovation coming out of interesting areas such as Decentralized Finance. This will not happen immediately, but we will be well positioned to offer the benefits and opportunities of this space to our clients when the time is right. For that, we are natively building our solutions on blockchain.

What is the opportunity in digitalizing oil value chains?
We see vast potential in this. If we look at the world today, numerous sectors and industries already function fully digitally. Software has eaten the world, in many ways. But there remain a few areas that are just starting with this development. Transacting between producers and buyers of physical oil is one of them. If oil is sold by a producer to a buyer today, most of the process is manual, offline, and follows a complex process with many different incompatible systems involved, including fax machines and paper documents. This leads to challenges that we can tackle by lifting the entire process on a digital level, using modern technology. It will unlock tremendous value in this market.

What are your priorities this year?
The first six months are all about building and delivering a product with a great market fit, reflecting the market convictions we have and following the insights we generated from industry research. We do this in close collaboration with industry experts, our advisers, and potential future clients and by leveraging our internal expertise in technology and the energy industry.