Immutable Investments Inc. (NEO: HOLD), a company seeking to democratize blockchain investment, has started trading in the Canadian market NEO exchange.

In light of the occasion, Benzinga spoke with the Chairman and CEO of Immutable Jordan fried on its efforts to improve access to blockchain equity.

Finding the crypto: Fried’s foray into digital assets and blockchain began with the creation of online secondary markets for video game currencies.

It wasn’t until years later, when he was running a virtual private network (VPN) startup – Buffered VPN – Fried found and accepted Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) for payment.

“I had become an expat living in Budapest, Hungary, and the internet sucked,” he said. “Many websites have been blocked due to censorship. If the Wall Street Journal wrote an article that was very critical of the Hungarian government, the article would be blocked.

Later, whistleblower Edward Snowden proclaimed that the US government was spying on people on a large scale. Overnight, this development saw a 100-fold increase in VPN activity.

Fried sold the business and got away with bitcoin.

Building the crypto: After Buffered, Fried remembers not being at peace.

“I did everything I wanted to do for a living. I have seen everything. During all this, however, I couldn’t understand why I was not happy, ”he explained. “I learned that I didn’t really need the money. Money was the lucky byproduct of building something.

Fried quickly moved to New York and met the team behind the Hashgraph algorithm.

“I wrote the biggest check in the algorithm at the time, and we ran Hedera,” he added.

Hedera’s cryptocurrency – HBAR – is used by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Boeing Co (NYSE: BA), Deutsche Telekom AG (OTC: DTEGY), Nomura Holdings Inc (NYSE: NMR) and among some of the other biggest companies in the world for its handling and governance characteristics.

“We have created almost $ 20 billion in market value just because of this project. “

The business allowed Fried to come into contact with people like Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, who was President of Larry Ellison of Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL).

“A lot of times senior management just didn’t understand it,” he said. “So we took a different approach; we would identify the owners within those organizations who were proficient in cryptography, and we would make a valuable argument for that technology.

Democratizing Crypto: Fried has a basic investment thesis.

Primarily, participants need to be in the know, as well as have the ability to adopt and accumulate.

For starters, it is difficult if there is no formal education for newcomers. This is why Fried founded 1-800-BITCOIN, a line that puts the curious in touch with a team that will help them turn them into knowledgeable blockchain investors.

By expanding access, under Immutable Holdings, Fried is investing for high net worth individuals. This initiative is the main source of income for Immutable.

With companies such as NFT.com – an emerging space approach that allows participants to allocate real world assets such as degrees, subscriptions and deeds of value on the blockchain – Fried seeks to create more native blockchain applications and do evolve adoption.

Together, Immutable is made up of CBDC.com, HBAR Labs, Enduring Advice, 1-800-BITCOIN, Enduring Asset Management and NFT.com.

“We like to think of it as the Berkshire Hathaway of the blockchain,… and we have a diverse exposure offering in the form of owning shares of our company.”

Why is the list immutable: “When you start a business, capital is oxygen.

The decision to raise publicly was a personal one, Fried explained.

“I am against venture capital. It is an absolute by-product of the Jobs Act, which makes investing in businesses very restrictive and reserved for the wealthiest. “

Fried wanted to democratize access to blockchain equity. The Canada-based NEO Exchange was the perfect venue, given that Canada is more supportive of crypto and blockchain innovation.

“I think there should be a real blockchain holding company,” he said. “The IPO allows us to have our own commercial paper which is a bit like a currency in itself. This will allow us to conduct a consolidation or merger and acquisition strategy.

Compliance first: Going forward, Fried is determined to innovate in a consistent manner.

“I value a good night’s sleep more than anything,” he said of how he was able to build relationships with key investors, such as Kevin O’Leary, who is obsessed with compliance.

In the past, Fried has spent millions on legal fees and sought the help of the SEC for blockchain initiatives.

“I think it’s so important for innovators to interact with regulators in a sandbox-like environment,” he concluded.