Tridib the blockchain evangelist, the serial entrepreneur, the disruptive tech-preneur, has had his share of experiences, but none has stood out in his mind more than the time he had spent with the King of Atooi and the Polynesian people, Dayne Aleka Gonsalves also known as Ali‘i Nui. It was in 2011 when Tridib dived headfirst into the world of crypto, that his tryst with the rights and freedoms of indigenous people began.
Tridib saw an unalienable link between blockchain/cryptocurrency and how it could be used to serve a larger purpose of bringing economic and political sovereignty to indigenous people around the world, beginning with the Polynesians. To this effect, Tridib has been involved with projects in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
Tridib was at the time issued a special invitation to visit and discuss with the King of Polynesia Ali‘i Nui a proposal to use blockchain technology to transform their governance model with a focus on autonomy and self-governance. During this time that he spent with the King of Atooi, and the Ploynesian people, Tridib learned a great deal about the cultural and economic history of the Hawaiians.
He learned that beginning with the British in the 1700s up until the annexation of Hawaii to the United States in 1900, Hawaii’s history had been one of colonial domination and persecution much to the detriment of the interests and rights of the local indigenous population. The Ali‘i’s idea then was to seek a solution outside the possible political and economic hegemony of the United states to set his people free and reclaim their sovereign rights. It was such ideas that gave birth to certain initiatives using blockchain technology which he considered to be perfectly suited to the cause because of being decentralized. He hoped that certain economic (read crypto) and blockchain (e-governance) could at least to some extent help lay the foundations to true independence.
Tridib understood the issues and call at hand and partnered with the Bancor Foundation to create Central Bank Digital Currency and digital e-governance framework for pacific governments exploring ways to exercise rights as an independent jurisdiction and issue sovereign electronic currency. He had helped establish the sovereign union and in partnership with Apollo Fintech, he was helping create greater financial inclusiveness for the people of Polynesia including the unbanked. As he stated “Frictionless commerce via digital stablecoins will empower economies across the Pacific to create new prosperity and to achieve a better economic future.”
With this background, Tridib understood that his involvement with the crypto/blockchain movements bigger picture was to do with furthering the economic and political sovereignty of historically oppressed and colonized peoples beginning with Polynesia and slowly encompassing other parts of the world.
Tridib continues to work in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space to bridge the gap for the under-served and under-represented. His current initiatives called the defi bull fund seeks to introduce the crypto space to the lay investor by making it easy for one to invest in the crypto market through the crypto-mutual fund thus relatively de-risking and simplifying the process. An initiative he started because of the questions he used to face from friends and family about crypto and his lifestyle.
The other initiative is the Musiverse project which is a project based on his background as a musician which he began with his close confidant and associate musician Colin Power which is about empowering the artist/musician to be able to create and profit from their own label, using fan crowdfunding and eliminating the middleman (agents and record companies). Both the artist and fans get to participate and enjoy more meaningful returns for the investment of their time, talent and resources.