Company Name Unchained
Founders: Joe Kelly Dhruv bansal
Date founded: October 2016
Headquarter Location: Austin, TX
Bitcoins held in Treasury Not disclosed
No. of employees 107
Website: https://unchained.com/
Is it Public or Private? You can also contact us by email.
Joe Kelly and Dhruv Bhansal began Unchained With one primary objective in mind: To provide financial services to people like themselves — long-term bitcoin holders. Unchained has grown from a simple lending desk in 2017 that enabled customers to borrow US Dollars against bitcoins, into a fully-fledged cryptocurrency company. financial Service provider for Bitcoiners that value their private keys.
Unchained has a wide range of services and products. These include multsig vaults and bitcoin trading desks. They also offer a bitcoin IRA as well as inheritance planning. Unchained excels in not only helping clients secure bitcoin but also in its guidance. Unchained has an Concierge Onboarding Team that guides clients through the sometimes vulnerable process of creating a multisig Vault.
“We really like being a navigator,” Kelly spoke to Bitcoin Magazine. “We’re not authoritative, like ‘You should do that.’ We’re the guide. We’re here to help show you ‘Here’s a map. Here’s a couple of trails you could take up the mountain. Pick your way, and if you need somebody to be your sherpa up one of these trails, we’ll do that for you.'”
Kelly and I had a chat to find out more about Unchained’s philosophy, history, and what makes it one of most trusted companies. financial Bitcoin Service Providers
Below is a transcript of our discussion, which has been edited to make it more concise and clear.
Frank Corva When did you meet your cofounder Dhruv bansal?
Joe Kelly Craigslist. When I dropped out of college, I looked for a job on Craigslist. next Dhruv had just started graduate school. The physics department of his department was in need of a new web page. The gig was posted like this: “Hey, come build a website.” What I felt like “Maybe I want to start a web development firm.” The center of nonlinear dynamics is where I met him. This is also the chaos theory. Dhruv told me that I had always been very curious about the field. This shared fascination with complexity science is a defining part of the relationship between us. After that, we started to build the company.
Corva: So, you’re an autodidact. You’re an autodidact.
Kelly: Mixture. It’s a mix. I wish I’d had more mentors. Since the beginning of the decade I was thrown in the thick end as a CEO. It’s been a long road to success.
Corva: How have you overcome the challenges that Unchained has faced since its founding in 2016?
Kelly: Unchained felt to me early on like it was an extremely counter-intuitive bet. All the VC investment in 2016 was focused on “We’re not sure about this Bitcoin thing, but blockchain is the real technology.”
We felt we had to focus on people who held bitcoins for a long time. The long-term bitcoin owner was essentially a nonentity. financial There is no institution they can trust that will work with them on a good basis.
There was a feedback that said, “Well, what about these other coins? Or why don’t you lend out the bitcoin like BlockFi is doing and increase your revenues?” It was counter-productive to say no. We stressed that the main point was: “No, Bitcoin. Bitcoin is it. Bitcoin is enough.” It was very popular to lend bitcoins, but we decided not to do it. If we had done so, our fate would have been at risk.
In our early years, we were happy to remain unpopular and underfunded in comparison to other competitors. This changed thankfully with partnerships such as NYDIG who led our Series A in 2021. This put us on the map as having more money and resources, while also looking like we had known all along we would be correct.
Corva: Unchained users are typically long-term holders of bitcoin.
Kelly: This is where the core sweet spot lies. The long-term Bitcoin holder gravitates towards self-custody, either because they do it already or are interested in doing so. work It is important to find someone who makes them comfortable.
You can find some of our sweet spots in the businesses and trusts that these people have created. Unchained allows you to create a trust and still keep your keys. This is not something you do to receive these benefits.
Corva: Your most popular product?
Kelly: Unchained is the product of choice for most clients. The vaults of 95% clients are either personal accounts or business accounts.
More than a quarter of our clients now have IRAs. Over the past year, this has been our fastest growing product line.
Some clients take out loans, but it is not all.
Vaults and trading go together well. Our trading desk is used by a growing number of clients.
Corva: The two words that spring to my mind when I think about Unchained are “security” You can also find out more about the following: “service.” Your concierge service helps you onboard new clients, and you’ve talked about the importance of security when storing bitcoins that your clients loan to you. Was it always your intention to put security and customer service at the forefront of everything you do?
Kelly: Early on, security was a priority. I spent the first two years of our business answering questions from customers. When our primary product was lending, we had a strong culture that encouraged us to take care of customers as much as possible.
The Concierge Onboarding Product was part of the reason we were able to launch the vault product at the beginning of 2019. It guided clients through setting up their hardware wallets as well as the multisignature vault. The interaction is conducted by one of our employees, and it is a great way to establish trust.
While someone is making a backup of their private key in a live session — off camera, of course — going through those really vulnerable, private steps of initializing [their multsig vault]Unchained’s representative is on the other end of their line, guiding them, answering questions, and ensuring they feel at ease. You’ve got it right when you say that Unchained combines security with service.
Corva: Are you finding it more difficult to convince others to invest in Unchained, now that spot Bitcoin ETFs and other convenient investments vehicles are available?
Kelly: It does an excellent job of increasing awareness about Bitcoin and establishing its legitimacy for people who may have been hesitant. It hasn’t affected or clouded our onboarding funnel. This still happens at the same pace as it did before ETFs and even faster since they launched in early this year.
Our sales team is able to leverage the large number of Bitcoiners that aren’t aware of Bitcoin. work We encourage self-custody at Unchained. Some people seek our help because they are feeling peer pressure. “Hey, you know, I’ve been going to Bitcoin meetups, and I know I need to get my base for self custody.”
The median age of clients also has increased in the last 2 years. The Boomer generation has been buying bitcoin in greater numbers. They may have bought in 2020-21, but are now two to three years later. “Alright, now I’m ready to do this. I’ve been through the trough and some of the peak and I’m going to hold this for a decade or more. Let me finally get self custody figured out.”
Corva: Sounds like you are in touch with the needs of your customers. Also, I read that Unchained takes customer feedback into account. Could you provide an example product that you have created in response to customer feedback?
Kelly: Sound Advisory is an affiliate of our Registered Investment Advisor. We launched it in the fourth quarter last year. This idea was inspired by customers who would visit our Concierge onboarding program and speak to one of the frontline staff. The last thing they asked was: “Do you know anybody that can give me financial advice for my bitcoin? I can’t talk to my traditional financial advisor, but I’m nearing retirement age and I’m thinking about when I might want to sell some bitcoin or whether I want to get a loan against my bitcoin.”
They want to make decisions based on practical considerations. You can’t even talk to yourself. This is a terrible reality. financial You need to conceal this portion of your portfolio, advisor. You won’t be on the same page with them. When you do not have the alignment of someone who is supposed to be a trusted adviser, it can make things difficult.
Corva: What else have you learned from your customers over the years? What other things have you learned over the years from your customers?
Kelly: Unchained is eight years old and has seen the adoption of Bitcoin increase in response to macro geopolitical issues or events like. “Hey, it’s not actually my money at the bank.”
People learn also from events like the Canadian Trucker Protest, where they learned that it is possible to lose money if one believes in certain ideas.
Last year, we saw the collapse of First Republic and SVB.
Unchained has created a set of services and products that are antifragile and aligned with the Bitcoin philosophy and core principles. This means we get a surge of customers when all of these bad things occur.
I am extremely proud of all the work that the team did to help thousands of people achieve a comfortable financial position using assets other than the traditional ones. financial System and systems outside [are prone to] Risks of centralization in terms of seizing or controlling bitcoin.
Unchained is a service that has more than 7,000 customers who secure 90,000 Bitcoin with over 12,000 keys. Maybe in four years 100,000 keys will secure tens and tens billions dollars of bitcoin.
It’s a unique idea. financial Institution that could not have existed previously. Our goal is to make this profitable in such a way that we can be around for as long as possible, but that also will have a positive impact on society, industry and the ecosystem.
Corva: You deserve a lot of praise for not minimizing the users. Unchained says a lot about you. “We’re going to give you the full Bitcoin experience.” You’re also a financial TradFi is a game that can be played by any service company. This game is great for those who have a background in traditional finance but want to learn more about bitcoin.
Kelly: This is a different model, and a completely different attitude from the Wall Street mentality that looks to maximize profits. “How do I get your money over here so I can make more money?” There is a clear version that does not necessarily serve the best interests of clients.
The We are the [opposite]. We’re trying to do business transparently — literally transparently on the blockchain — and as a company.
Corva: Unchained is a unique experience that will be different for your clients than the traditional experience. financial Unchained will be able to reach out to their peers and tell them about it.
Kelly: Let’s go back to the ETF. As your first introduction to bitcoin you may purchase some ETF shares, but at this point only a partial conversion has occurred. You’ll complete the conversion once you have sent bitcoin using a hardware wallet. This is a crucial part of your journey.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
