CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Alankar Saxena, CTO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global crypto investing platform.
Please provide us with a brief description of your company, its specialization, and the products it provides.
Mudrex is a US-headquartered and Bengaluru-based fintech start-up launched in early 2018. It is a dynamic platform that has revolutionized the face of cryptocurrency investing with its product gamut, simplifying the journey of retail investors. Mudrex is a Y-combinator crypto platform. Together with Edul Patel (CEO), Rohit Goyal, and Price Arora, who are also IIT Bombay graduates, we co-founded Mudrex to create an all-in-one global crypto investment platform that benefits retail investors. Our platform is designed to provide better risk-adjusted returns in a volatile market, allowing our users to invest in cryptocurrencies in the long-term.
What are the products and services of Mudrex?
Mudrex takes an index-investing approach. Our flagship product called Coin Sets allows users to invest in different tokens around the themes across the crypto ecosystem. The product also allows investors to start their crypto investment journey with as low as $1. The platform also allows them to invest in Coin Sets regularly through its SIP feature. The tokens in the Coin Set are also rebalanced every month to ensure better risk-adjusted returns to its users.
Another major offering, ‘Crypto-as-a-service’, is one-of-a-kind API-based enterprise tech. The service enables traditional and crypto-specific brokers, portfolio management services, fintech, etc., to provide reliable and secure crypto investment products to their user base.
Mudrex has also unveiled its new product called Vault recently, where investors can park their money and earn 10% interest on their investments. It is a multi-dimensional company that caters to the varied needs of all its users.
What is your company’s biggest USP that sets it apart from your competitors? What problem are you trying to solve?
Mudrex is a crypto investment platform unlike most of the exchanges. It caters to retail audiences who cover a significant portion of the investment world but are often overlooked. To make crypto investment easily accessible to them, we built Mudrex. Today, the goal of our company is to simplify crypto investments as much as possible for retail or everyday investors.
How do you ensure that the technology strategy aligns with the company’s overall business strategy?
As the CTO of Mudrex, one of my primary responsibilities is to ensure that our technology strategy aligns with the overall business strategy. To achieve this, it is vital to regularly communicate with the leadership team and review our financials and performance metrics. It’s also essential to work closely with other departments, such as sales, product, and marketing, to ensure that technology is viewed as an enabler rather than a barrier to business success.
I conduct regular reviews and assessments to maintain alignment between our technology and business strategies. This involves analyzing performance metrics, conducting market research, and gathering feedback from key stakeholders. As the business environment evolves and goals and strategies change, I have a mindset to remain flexible and adaptable. It may require adjusting our technology strategy to ensure that we continue to support the overall business strategy. By staying vigilant and responsive to changes, we can maintain a strong alignment between technology and business goals at Mudrex.
How do you prioritize and manage multiple technology projects and initiatives being the CTO of the company?
Effective communication is crucial when managing multiple projects. I regularly communicate with stakeholders, including project managers and project team members, to ensure that everyone is aligned and informed about the project status and any changes. This allows me to identify and address potential issues before they become major problems. Managing risks is also an essential aspect of project management. My team and I take steps to identify and manage risks associated with each project. It includes developing contingency plans to address any potential issues that may arise. Having a plan in place can minimize the impact of unexpected events and keep the project on track.
Can you discuss some of the critical technology challenges you have faced while building Mudrex and how you overcame them?
As a platform that deals with financial transactions, security was our top priority. We implemented multi-factor authentication, SSL encryption, and other security measures to protect user data and transactions. Integrating with various third-party APIs presented a challenge in managing API connections and handling errors. We developed a robust error handling system and implemented rate limiting to ensure that our API usage remained within acceptable limits.
While working with new technologies, we faced scalability, security, and performance optimization challenges. However, we overcame these challenges by implementing horizontal scaling, load balancing, security measures, error handling systems, rate limiting, caching, and optimized database queries. These efforts helped us to improve platform performance, ensure user data protection, and maintain stability as our platform grew in popularity.
What is your advice to young entrepreneurs and aspiring CTOs?
I have learned some valuable lessons that can benefit young entrepreneurs and aspiring CTOs.
- Placing the customer at the center of everything we do is critical. We must identify their pain points, actively listen to their feedback, and develop solutions to their problems.
- As a CTO, it is imperative to keep up with the latest trends and advancements in the industry. One way to achieve this is by attending conferences, reading industry publications, and building professional networks.
- A company’s team is its most valuable asset. It is essential to have the right people on board and empower them to take ownership and contribute to the company’s success.
- Since the business landscape constantly evolves, we must remain adaptable and agile. We must be willing to pivot when necessary and make swift changes to stay ahead of the competition.
How can Blockchain solve transparency issues in FinTech?
I believe blockchain technology is vital to resolving transparency challenges within the FinTech sector. Its transparent and immutable nature provides a straightforward way to audit and verify financial transactions. Additionally, the decentralized design of Blockchain eliminates any single point of control or failure, thus reducing the risk of fraudulent activities and increasing trust. This technology also facilitates faster and more secure payments through its distributed ledger system while minimizing the risks of non-compliance and associated penalties.
How can Blockchain and AI complement each other?
AI and Blockchain are two of the most powerful technologies available today and can complement each other in several ways, including improving data security and transparency. Blockchain can offer a secure and transparent method for storing and sharing data, which is essential for AI applications. By using Blockchain, we can guarantee that data is tamper-proof and cannot be modified or deleted without authorization, making it ideal for storing sensitive data used by AI applications. Additionally, distributing AI models and data across a network of nodes with Blockchain can minimize the risk of a single point of failure and enhance system performance.
How can Blockchain and cybersecurity work together?
I firmly believe that integrating Blockchain and cybersecurity can enhance the security and credibility of digital systems. Since Blockchain operates in a decentralized manner, it eliminates the possibility of a central point of control that attackers can target. Consequently, using Blockchain can mitigate the risk of cyberattacks and increase the difficulty of system infiltration by hackers. By capitalizing on the decentralized nature of blockchain technology, we can reinforce cybersecurity measures and thwart data breaches.
Furthermore, implementing an unalterable identity verification system can decrease the likelihood of identity theft and heighten cybersecurity. This can be achieved by establishing digital identities securely stored on the Blockchain, rendering it arduous for cybercriminals to tamper with personal information.
