Cryptocurrency's Future Hinge on Compliance, according to Metallicus' Irina Berkon's Perspective
Cracking the Blockchain Barrier with Metallicus
Last month at Consensus 2025 Toronto, our very own Irina Berkon, a board member at Metallicus, took the stage to emphasize a crucial truth that many financial executives have come to acknowledge: crypto and blockchain are still integral. Despite the AI hype, Irina argued that significant progress is finally being made in the world of crypto infrastructure, and finance leaders should take heed.
In a recent interview, Berkon detailed how Metallicus is questioning the status quo by employing blockchain technology in innovative ways, particularly for treasury management and fund control.
Upgrading Traditional Finance
As a crypto company guiding the blockchain revolution, Metallicus not only offers crypto solutions but also uses them internally. In a lively example minutes prior to their conversation, Irina explained how their company employs blockchain technology for treasury management.
Metallicus manages various crypto wallets containing their assets. A wallet with a multi-signature feature was used in this instance. Irina had requested a transaction requiring an M-Sig to transfer funds from one wallet to another. This request was then routed to the designated signatories for approval. In this setup, the funds remain locked until the required signatories confirm the transfer, ensuring no single individual can move assets independently.
Bridging the Forecasting Gap
With an ever-evolving intersection of crypto, blockchain, and traditional finance, Irina shares that the roadmap is being charted through close engagement with customers, primarily credit unions, community banks, and similar organizations. The revenue model closely resembles a typical B2B software company.
Irina and her team manage the market's volatility the same way any company would handle volatile assets on their balance sheet, by keeping a close eye on their performance, while also acknowledging market variations. Forecasting and financial planning, however, continue to be customer-centric.
A Journey into Crypto
Irina's intriguing foray into crypto began as a casual conversation on the Embarcadero, when a group of young entrepreneurs, whizzing by on electric scooters, struck up a conversation and offered her a role in their company, launching an initial coin offering (ICO). When she asked, "What's an ICO?", the rest, as they say, is history.
After traveling the world and pitching the product at conferences from Singapore to London, Irina joined Metallicus in January 2020, impressed by the company's commitment to doing things the right way. With a combination of serious technology, entertaining memes, and a deep understanding of the compliance landscape, they have managed to remain at the forefront of the crypto industry.
The Future of Finance Talent
Addressing the common notion that fewer smart young people are entering the accounting profession, Irina encourages firms to stress the importance of building a strong foundation, providing opportunities, and showcasing the potential that awaits those who put in the time and effort to learn the ropes. Public accounting has equipped Irina with essential skills and experiences that have helped her succeed in the crypto industry.
Key Aspects of Metallicus’s Blockchain Employment
- Private Subnets for Enhanced Security: Financials institutions can create private subnets utilizing Metallicus’s blockchain protocol for customizable access controls, thus segregating sensitive internal operations and financial transactions from the public chain.
- Bridgeless Interoperability: The TDBN ensures instant global payments and real-time settlement, enabling efficient treasury management and risk management.
- Regulatory Compliance: Embedded compliance checks and digital identity management systems help financial institutions adhere to regulations like BSA and manage fraud prevention, member protection, and more.
- Digital Identity and Asset Tokenization: Tokenizing assets supports secure, traceable, and efficient management of digital assets while providing authorized personnel with exclusive access.
- Customizable Solutions: Metallicus's Metal Blockchain Banking Innovation Program offers tailored solutions, including stablecoins, cryptocurrency management, SSO, and more, designed to enhance financial institutions' performance and member services.
- One of the strategies that Metallicus, a company at the forefront of the blockchain revolution, employs internally is using blockchain technology for treasury management, such as managing crypto wallets containing their assets, with a multi-signature feature ensuring safe transfers of funds.
- Irina Berkon, a board member at Metallicus, emphasizes that the company's revenue model closely resembles a typical B2B software company, serving customers like credit unions, community banks, and similar organizations.
- Metallicus's blockchain protocol allows financial institutions to create private subnets for enhanced security, enabling customizable access controls for sensitive internal operations and financial transactions, while maintaining the benefits of the blockchain technology.
- Irina Berkon's journey into crypto began when she joined a company launching an initial coin offering (ICO), and later joined Metallicus, impressed by their commitment to compliance and innovative use of technology, such as the creation of stablecoins, cryptocurrency management, and SSO solutions.
- Metallicus’s Metal Blockchain Banking Innovation Program offers customizable solutions to financial institutions, including tokenizing assets for secure, traceable, and efficient management, as well as compliance checks and digital identity management systems to help them adhere to regulations like BSA and manage fraud prevention, member protection, and more.
