published: 2023-07-06
In the article, the ideas and aims of DigiOptions are discussed, as are the opportunities for investors and the security of the platform.
We’re very excited by the possibilities our company can give to its customers.
Read the whole article here: https://finmag.co.uk/company-showcase-digioptionsrevolutionizing-user-driven-option-markets-through-blockchain-fintech/
published: 2023-06-23
We are immensely proud to have been mentioned here among other big names in an industry that is defining the times.
We are excited about the FinTech revolution happening right now and even prouder to be part of it.
Read the full article here: https://eustartup.news/berlins-fintech-revolution-unveiling-the-future-of-financial-services/
published: 2022-08-30
Chainnews chose startups and companies who are using different methods to innovate the Blockchain industry, and who are also very good companies to look out for.
They based their selection on key features such as Innovation (ideas, route to market and product), Growth (exceptional growth and growth strategy), Management and Societal Impact.
Other companies included are Kidtsunami, Coala IP and Rugged Bytes.
This is more great news for us as we gear up to live and offer to the world our new, unique, cryptocurrency take on the betting industry.
https://chainnews.ai/100-most-innovative-blockchain-startups-companies-berlin-germany/
published: 2022-08-19
We are excited to announce that DigiOptions co-founder Dr. Holger Bartel will be interviewed by Richard Doherty on the Fintech Scaling Show on August 19th.
He discusses his interest in start-ups, dedication to the industry, defining management, and watching YouTube videos on artificial intelligence before going to sleep.
You can tune into the show here: https://thescalingshow.podbean.com/
published: 2022-12-05
We are very proud to announce that DigiOptions were selected to participate in the Investors Dinner, where startups were able to pitch in front of investors in a lovely, relaxed atmosphere. A delicious 3-course menu was enjoyed by all, and we not only were able to pitch DigiOptions but made contacts with VCs as well.
View DigiOption's article here.
published: 2022-12-05
DigiOptions has been nominated in the Fintech Innovators Rising Stars Report for 2022.
The report looks at the young and rising stars of the FinTech and InsurTech communities in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The full report and Fintech Innovators Linkedin page are below!
https://fintech-i.com/dl/rep22-sdfhas/FinTechInnovators-RisingStarsReport2022.pdf
published: 2022-07-29
This is very exciting news for us!
DigiOptions has been included in the 101 Top Berlin-based Blockchain Companies!
https://beststartup.eu/101-top-blockchain-startups-and-companies-in-berlin/
Beststartup.eu picked companies of all sizes, which included cutting edge start-ups to the more established brands. They based their selection on key features such as Innovation (ideas, route to market and product), Growth (exceptional growth and growth strategy), Management and Societal Impact. Other companies included are peaq, Nuri, Finoa and Chainflip, to name but a few. This is great news for us as we prepare to offer to the world our new, unique, cryptocurrency take on the betting industry.
published: 2022-02-26
On Sunday, March 27, 2022, Dr. Holger Bartel, CEO DigiOptions, is a speaker at T2T Hackathon in Dubai. His talk is about: "Blockchain: Trends, Business Models and Decentralized Trading Use Case".
The story Holger will tell is a short story of blockchain: Starting with Bitcoin and democratizing money. But then recognizing that decentralized apps (DApps) cannot be developed on Bitcoin blockchain. Therefore the community moved to Ethereum, writing smart contracts and developing a huge ecosystem. But Ethereum became a victim of his own success, getting slow and expensive. That's why fast and cheap blockchains are needed now, like the XDC network, while still being based on the Ethereum virtual machine.
Since blockchain is mostly about creating a technical infrastructure, Holger finally will talk about some real world applications like arts, real estate, and decentralized finance (DeFi). Holger will showcase LIVE how DigiOptions, a decentralized derivatives trading platform, works. Since DigiOptions is about to be ported to XDC this will hopefully inspire some of the great developers participating in T2T Hackathon!
March 27th: 8:00 am to 10.00 pm Dubai time (with Gulf Standard Time GST being three hours before CET)
Website of The Ultimate T2T Hybrid Hackathon for Blockchain Developers:
https://hackathon.goplugin.co/
published: 2022-02-28
Fundscene, the innovative financial strategies magazine on crypto, trading, ETF, NFT and stocks talked to Ulf Bartel, CTO DigiOptions.
In Issue 03/2022 Ulf shares the vision he has with DigiOptions, providing a user-driven betting platform running on the blockchain, enabling everyone to bet on anything. User-driven means that the users can create the markets they would like to bet on. An important USP is the market making bot providing liquidity to all markets. And using the blockchain the usual counterparty risk can be completely eliminated.
Get the article (german)
published: 2022-02-15
Entnest - Home of Entrepreneurs is bringing back the monthly networking events! And we are excited to have DigiOption's CEO, Dr. Holger Bartel, as speaker to spark the discussion on digitalisation and technology on the 28th of February, at 4:00-5:00 pm CET. The event's main focus will be networking, discussing new ideas and business models and supporting each other as entrepreneurs.
If you'd like to join, sign up using this link:
www.entnest.com/events/details/networking-chat-event-1
This Technology & Digitalisation event is the first of three the Entnest community has voted for. Holger will contribute by sharing some of his personal learnings and opinions from his way as a startup founder in the fintech industry.
published: 2022-01-28
We are happy to announce that we were nominated as a Top Blockchain Company in Germany by Crypto Pill. We made it into the 101 top blockchain startups in Germany, a list focusing on blockchain innovation.
yourcryptopill.com/101-top-blockchain-startups-in-germany-blockchain-innovation/
The list showcases the top picks for the best Germany based blockchain companies. These startups and companies are taking a variety of approaches to innovating the Blockchain industry, but are all exceptional companies well worth a follow. Crypto Pill picked companies across the size spectrum from cutting edge startups to established brands. The criteria comprise innovation (ideas, route to market, product), growth, management and societal impact.
DigiOptions is proud to be a member of this hot list. We are happy that our approach to provide user-driven option markets on the blockchain was recognized. It is our vision to provide markets you won't find anywhere else. Enabling everyone to make profits from their own market assessment.
Read a copy of the interview here
published: 2022-01-20
DigiOptions was invited to the 59th True Global Ventures Conference on 20 January 2022.
www.tgv4plus.com/tgv-event-us-europe-20-jan-2022.html
True Global Ventures 4 Plus (TGV) is a global technology equity Venture Capital firm that invests in serial entrepreneurs in over 20 cities. TGV has held numerous tech and investment conferences worldwide, stringing together blockchain trends and applications while bringing the industry together. At this year's conference all participants are aggressively challenging the ongoing hype around blockchain. Digging into real use cases of blockchain applications to solve real problems and defining what should go into production or blockchain technology.
DigiOptions, providing new betting markets on the blockchain, perfectly fits into that mindset. Users can create the markets they would like to bet on. We are happy to be selected for the investors breakout session on "Crypto as an asset class becoming mainstream with Institutional Investors".
published: 2021-12-14
The annual online report of the young FinTech & InsurTech startups scene from Germany and Austria that are currently conquering the market is finally here. Free for all members of the FinTech Innovators community.
DigiOptions found its way into the current publication and is one of the 100 best young Fintech Startups from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. DigiOptions was selected for its new democratic and decentralized way to provide derivatives markets. Using blockchain technology we enable everyone to open up a betting market he would like to bet on. This will lead to a universe of exotic betting markets you won't find anywhere else.
What is the Fintech Report?
The Fintech Report is a unique overview of 100 startups on over 2500 pages. The contents are the plans, successes and solutions of young FinTech/InsurTech startups. Every year, this report presents a practical overview and details about the trends and newcomers on the scene. The Fintech report shows company facts, product insights, and achievements of all features startups.
The Fintech Report reaches 11,000 readers in its own community and a further 30,000 readers via its partners. The largest groups among them are: FinTech/InsurTech founders, aspiring founders and employees in FinTechs/InsurTechs, representatives of finance/insurance corporates, FinTech/InsurTech service providers, startup mentors and support organizations. In addition, numerous journalists, bloggers, research institutions and representatives of business and location organizations.
The publisher, FinTech Innovators, is an initiative that connects the most exciting, young FinTech/InsurTech companies with the ecosystem every year.
Get the report (german)
published: 2021-11-07
The Hong Kong FinTech Week takes place on 1-5 November 2021 year at HKCEC and online. Bringing together over 17,000 virtual and physical attendees, including the region’s biggest FinTech executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators.
DigiOptions, providing decentralized derivatives markets on the blockchain, participated in the calls with international champions.
We were happy having calls with international financial institutions and investment banks. We strive to provide them with cutting-edge blochkain technology to prepare them for future market opportuninites.
published: 2021-11-07
This report covers the 50 most innovative fintech & insurtech startups - including DigiOptions - from Germany and Austria, conquering new markets:
https://fintech-i.com/report2021/
To be released in November 2021.
DigiOptions provides decentralized derivatives markets on the blockchain. https://www.digioptions.com/
published: 2021-10-08
Today DigiOptions was invited to the international Pitch and Q&A event especially designed for web3, crypto, and blockchain enthusiasts. The events panelist was Simon Yi, Program Director at tachyon accelerator.
https://www.linkedin.com/events/forweb3startups-pitchdaywithsim6841510926873628673/
Dr. Holger Bartel, CEO of DigiOptions, showcased the DigiOptions special features: Providing liquidity to the betting markets. Holger also emphasized the decentralized aspect of the platform. While technically running decentralized on blockchains like Ethereum, Thundercore and Celo, the most important feature is that the users themselves can create the markets they would like to bet on: stocks, sports, politics ... anything!
published: 2021-09-07
Today the first episode of The Deep Learning Crowd Podcast was released with DigiOptions CEO Holger Bartel as first guest. Holger is talking about modern technologies - blockchain and artificial intelligence - and the companies he founded.
This is what host Rhys Luxford says about this episode:
"You get to know Holger and what he does. We dive into entrepreneurship and what Holger has done to get into the position he is in now. Holger was voted Top 25 Insurtech CEOs of 2020, he is a serial entrepreneur, a king of automating and an awesome guy. I learned a lot and I believe anyone listening can take some value from this show too."
The Podcast is available on all platforms. Listen to it here:
https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ceecfe20-763b-472e-b2b0-7ebb7b8aa6f5
published: 2021-08-24
DigiOptions is excited to have Dennis Korthouwer onboard as the CFO of DigiOptions. Dennis is an experienced entrepreneur and startup expert.
After receiving a first-in-class MBA MSc, Dennis led the turnaround of a Dutch Media company; turning a 3 million loss into a 1 million profit that eventually led to the sale to TALPA. He then moved on to found a gaming company, raised millions from Angel Investors in NL, DE, AT, IL, and USA, patented and developed the technology, and sold the product around the world. Since appointing a new CEO for his gaming company, Dennis helps startups and scaleups raise capital and expand globally.
Dennis's expertise is in fundraising and global growth. He has a huge network and will be supporting DigiOptions with investor relations.
published: 2021-05-26
We are excited to announce that the DigiOptions team today was announced a winner of the Celo Pathway program.
The intense 6 weeks program culminated in an international pitch event. We are happy to be awarded with the Celo Mission Award. We have been showcasing our DeFi project helping developing countries hedging against the consequences of climate change using decentralized derivatives markets.
Mission Award for project ClimateExchange: "ClimateExchange uses the dApps revolution to allow farmers to hedge against climate risks and to prosper even in challenging environments."
https://www.notion.so/Climate-Exchange-65ede554a58d4d01ab994b3e15b14422
The Mission Award is awarded to the one team who's mission aligns the most with Celo's vision of Open Financial System and Prosperity for all and wins 100 Celo.
This project is based on DigiOptions' free, decentralized and user-driven markets technology.
published: 2021-08-24
Today DigiOptions closed a business angel investment, rasing 50,000 EUR.
The business angel is a serial entrepreneur and CTO from Germany, his former companies already raised millions from strategic investors. DigiOptions will profit from the business angel's huge network and experience. The investment will be used to launch on other blockchains.
published: 2021-05-10
The intense 6 weeks program means to onboard startups to use the Celo blockchain to build a great financial ecosystem especially for the under-banked. DigiOptions is enthusiastic about the Celo approach and goals: We aim to provide derivatives markets for everyone.
Today, derivatives markets are not accessible to the under-banked. Therefore, they are missing the opportunity to hedge against external catastrophes like storm, rain, dryness, or political instability. This is especially relevant for African countries. DigiOptions provides such markets for everyone owning a crypto wallet. Plus, our market maker provides liquidity and ensures everyone can always trade.
We use open source technology and blockchain to provide open, free and transparent derivatives markets without the need to have bank account or access to a stock exchange. A major advantage Celo offers and we will make use of are fast and cheap transactions as well as the mobile-first approach.
See project information on https://www.notion.so/Digioptions-65ede554a58d4d01ab994b3e15b14422.
published: 2020-11-08
We participated at Symbioticon 2020, a hackathon presented by German 'Sparkasse Finanzgruppe'.
We developed an innovative proof of concept to connect our state of the art blockchain based approach to traditional investment products like investment funds.
Attention: Our video presentation is German only!
published: 2020-10-27
The DigiOptions project is supported by the OVH Digital Launchpad Programme. DigiOptions will benefit from access to the OVH collaboration platform, infrastructure credits, architecture analysis and consulting. OVH is a cloud provider offering dedicated servers, hosted private cloud, and openstack-based public cloud to over 1.4 million customers worldwide.
published: 2020-10-24
DigiOptions today was featured on FintechLive. FintechLive presents innovative startups to a broad audience of fintech investors, financial services execs, and industry insiders. See fintechlabs.com/pitch/digioptions
published: 2020-10-19
Today Blockrocket European Blockchain Labs chose DigiOptions for their startup program. See www.blockrocket.io and www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6726867321295654913.
DigiOptions perfectly fits into Blockrocket’s startup program, being a blockchain fintech focusing on DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and bringing blockchain based betting and derivatives markets to a broad user base.
Blockrocket is a dedicated accelerator for blockchain startups offering an exclusive ecosystem to help startups, corporates, and investors to leverage the potential of blockchain technology, through shared co-working spaces across multiple cities in the DACH region. Blockrocket was launched in early 2019 by various shareholders from the Fintech space in Germany. Since then they acquired numerous well-known partners and mentors and onboarded the best 40+ blockchain startups to the program.
published: 2020-10-15
DigiOptions joins Symbioticon #GAMECHANGER, the hackathon organized by German Sparkassen Finanzgruppe.
DigiOptions participates in the Investment track, focusing on deploying decentralized derivatives trading on new underlyings.
Symbioticon is the saving banks finance groups annual hackathon organized by the Sparkassen Innovation Hub (S-Hub). In recent years, the concept has already gone far beyond a pure developer competition. The fusion of hackathon, conference and networking event brought together different interest groups. The teams created trend-setting product ideas for the Sparkasse of tomorrow.
published: 2020-09-22
Dr. Holger Bartel, CEO DigiOptions, was invited to the European Unicorn Battle of Fintech startups. Holger explained how DigiOptions uses blockchain technology to create decentralized betting markets. Holger also answered investors' questions on the business model.
Link to pitch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyIDK2tkirA.
published: 2020-08-21
DigiOptions today pitched in front of 150+ leading executives, founders, and investors from the blockchain ecosystem in Germany. Regularly Blockrocket handpicks a few promising blockchain startups to pitch their business case. The jury consists of business angels, VCs and partners. Blockrocket is a dedicated accelerator for blockchain startups.
We answered questions about our technology, the functioning of the betting markets and the business model. View DigiOptions pitch on youtube.
published: 2020-07-29
DigiOptions was chosen to be one of the eight startups participating in the very first cohort of EnCode Club. EnCode Club is an intense 10 week programme for blockchain startups aiming to go to the next level. The Club is meant to lead startups from their success in hackathons and competitions (in our case the Future of Blockchain Competition) to the onboarding of new users. DigiOptions got an Encode grant of 4.000 Euros.
We had an intense time with weekly presentations, calls, discussions and contact to successful founders with big exits. During the Club, the workshop topics would vary from AMAs, technical deep-dive, lessons on product-building, testing, iteration, fundraising and user acquisition. See https://medium.com/encode-club/en-code-thundercore-club-summary-6317b30b70a5. And, of course, we had the big final pitch day.
Most important, were are excited that were could convince the Club sponsor ThunderCore! They offered us an additional grant of 10.000 Euro and marketing support in order to go live on their mobile platform ThunderCore Hub. So stay tuned for more..!
published: 2020-04-20
560 participants, more than 140 teams, more than 70 submissions and twelve finalists: DigiOptions was chosen to be one of the finalists of the Future of Blockchain competition.
Future of Blockchain is a 3-month competition for innovative blockchain projects, attracting researchers and leading developers. This 2nd iteration focused on Oxford, Cambridge, London and new for this cohort: Berlin, where DigiOptions is based. Submissions were also received from Zurich, Rome, Stirling, Waterloo, Cape Town and Paris.
These finalists will compete in front of an international jury on April 27th for the final top prize:
Finalists, challenge partners and judges can be found here: Future of Blockchain 2: the finalists.
DigiOptions’ Betting Markets
DigiOptions went live on March 15, 2020 the Future of Blockchain submission date. On our platform you can easily take bets on financial events. We've been starting with monthly betting markets for the most important crypto currencies: Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple. For example you can bet on the Bitcoin closing below 6,000 USD by the end of April 2020. Currently it will cost you just 0.14 Ether - and you will win one full Ether if you're right. It is a highly leveraged investment.
Indeed it is a financial derivative, also known as digital option. It's digital because there are just two possibilities: You win or you lose. In contrast to highly complicated financial derivatives our digital options as ease to interpret: The prices are simply the event probabilities expected by the market. In the example above traders expect a 14 percent chance of Bitcoin dropping below 6,000 USD.
While crypto spot markets are well developed there are rare opportunities to invest in crypto derivatives. DigiOptions is there to fill the gap!
Using DigiOptions is really simple. There is no registration. You just need an Ether wallet.
published: 2020-03-15
Today, on Sunday night, March 15, 2020 DigiOptions is going live! After more than three years of development and the original idea being more than a decade old we are finally live on the Ethereum blockchain.
So, what is DigiOptions? DigiOptions is an online betting platform, driven by users and running on the blockchain.
For the launch you can take bets on cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple. For example, you can bet on Bitcoin closing above 5.750 USD by end of March 2020. You will have to pay a fraction of an Ether (our trading currency). If you’re right you will get 1 Ether. So there is quite a leverage.
In case, you are pessimistic about Bitcoin you can take a bet on Bitcoin closing below 5.000 USD. There are also ranges in between. DigiOptions markets can be used to leverage you investment as well as hedging against risks.
You’ll find all available markets at www.digioptions.com. You don’t need to register. It’s open to everyone. All you need is an Ether wallet. Enjoy!
Our going live is part of Future of Blockchain, an international 3 month blockchain competition for developers and entrepreneurs, www.futureofblockchain.co.uk.
published: 2019-12-12
An interview with the founders of DigiOptions, originally published in German on BTC ECHO, https://www.btc-echo.de/wetten-auf-der-blockchain-fuer-jeden-und-auf-alles-ein-interview-mit-den-gruendern-von-digioptions/
Blockchain technology can be used for more than just trading Bitcoin. DigiOptions aims at offering decentralized new betting markets comprising much more than crypto currencies. Today, the Ethereum blockchain enables business models that were not possible some years ago due to technical and regulatory hurdles. In this interview the founders of DigiOptions, Holger and Ulf, explain how digital options work, how even weather could be traded and how market liquidity is provided.
How did you come up with the idea of starting DigiOptions?
Holger: We had the idea for DigiOptions over ten years ago. At that time we did market making with our first fintech as a service for a financial betting platform. This worked out very well: Our trading bot filled the order book for our client fully automatically – he was very happy because he had liquidity in his markets and thus the decisive competitive advantage. We founded DigiOptions at that time but stopped the project because of regulatory requirements. Now we live in the blockchain world and have received the go of German supervisory authority, BaFin. Now we can start.
How do the digital options work and how are they different from other financial derivatives?
Holger: A digital option is nothing more than a bet. For example, on DigiOptions.com you can find a bitcoin market. There you can bet if the Bitcoin is worth between $ 7,250 and $ 7,500 tonight. This costs, for example, 0.2 Ether. If you win the bet, you will automatically receive 1 Ether transferred to your wallet. As a trader you only need an Ether wallet. A bank account does not have to be opened. Everyone can bet on DigiOptions – on everything.
Why do you use the Ethereum Blockchain?
Ulf: Our platform is completely decentralized – from the order book to the matching of supply and demand and finally settlement. We can realize this using the ethereum blockchain and their smart contracts. We make use of smart contracts and build on the confidence in ethereum blockchain. It is guaranteed that every user gets paid his profit in the end. Because everyone offering a bet has to deposit the underlying amount on the blockchain in the first place. So we eliminated the default risk. Using the blockchain we want to be safer and even faster: A new market can be set up with just a few clicks. The users have the control: they open up the markets and also settle them.
Now you are not just talking about options on cryptocurrencies. Your digital options should also be able to handle various events, for example from the world of sports and politics?
Ulf: Our vision is a whole universe of decentralized betting markets. We'll start with markets on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether or Ripple. Then markets will follow on politics ("Will Trump win the next presidential election?") and sports, weather and society. Finally, our users can also offer markets for local events ("Who wins the tournament of the local football club?"). We are very curious about which bets are created by our users.
What is the regulatory situation here? Not everyone can open a betting market.
Holger: Persons or companies that open up a betting market must comply with the legal requirements of their country. We also point this out in our disclaimer. We want to work with strategic partners who have the appropriate licenses.
How are you regulated yourself?
Holger: DigiOptions develops the software for the options markets and makes them available as free software. We do not run the stock exchange by ourselves, we do not open up markets and we do not settle them. We just perform online marketing to ensure that interested traders will find the betting markets. For this marketing service we are paid a success-dependent fee. So we are an online affiliate marketer. In October 2019 we received the OK from the German financial supervisory authority for our business model since we do not provide any financial services.
Are platforms like Augur or Gnosis competitors of yours as they also offer bets on various events?
Ulf: Augur and Gnosis are competitors and role models at the same time. They entered the market early and did important preliminary work for decentralized markets. They call it prediction markets as the market prices represent the probability of the event occurring. We hope having learned from our competitors in one respect: Offered market liquidity is really important; we saw this early when providing market making services.
And how do you ensure that there is enough liquidity in your betting markets?
Ulf: We have developed a trading bot that trades on the markets and thus fills the order book. So if someone wants to trade, he simply can accept one of the available offers. The bot performs strict risk management: If the risk in one event is too high it simply buys the opposite event. This allows us to ensure liquidity in many markets with limited resources.
What is your business model?
Holger: We are an affiliate marketing company. When someone opens up a market, he can specify in the smart Contract what proportion of their earned transaction costs they want to spend for online marketing. If this share is attractive to us and the market is reputable then we perform online advertising for his market. DigiOptions aims to become the central point of access for digital options markets on the blockchain.
What is the current status? What are the next steps for DigiOptions to launch?
Holger: Already for more than one year our prototype is running stably on ethereum testnet. Thus, the technical proof of concept has been provided and we were able to implement the wishes of our test users. After three years of preparation, we founded the company in August 2019 and in October 2019 we got approved by the supervisory authority. These were significant milestones. At the beginning of 2020 we will go live with DigiOptions.com on Ethereum main-chain. Our test users are impatiently looking forward to it.