Interview with Toby Hoenisch, CEO and Founder of TenX
The Cryptocurrencycard.org C-Suite Series interviews leaders in the crypto space driving real world adoption. In this interview, we speak with Toby Hoenisch, the CEO & Founder of TenX. TenX is a payments platform that aims to enable users to use cryptocurrency for daily transactions. The company aims to accelerate crypto adoption for mainstream consumers. Ten X offers a crypto card in selected countries, which will work in tandem with the TenX wallet through the VISA payment gateway.
1) Tell us about your background. What got you interested in cryptocurrency?
I’ve been in the crypto space since 2012. I founded TenX three years later in 2015. I truly believe that cryptocurrency can revolutionize the way the world operates and there are so many benefits that can come from a world where money is borderless. The technology is what first got me interested, but the potential impact is why I’m still here.
2) Do you have any hobbies? What do you do outside of work?
Outside of work I spend my time building drones and keeping healthy. I also love reading. Right now, through this time, my go to book is Atlas Shrugged.
3) When did you decide to start a company in the crypto space?
TenX is the third technology company that I have founded. I’ve been able to leverage my background in tech, AI and Computer Science to do so. What really got me into crypto was the idea of disruption, which has always been a passion of mine. My vision for TenX is a world where people control their own finances – a world without borders.
4) Did you learn anything valuable in the first 60-90 days of running your company?
The question should be ‘What did I not learn that was valuable?’ Almost everything that any entrepreneur does comes with learnings on what they should do or should stop doing. Even today, we are constantly learning, adapting and refining to ensure we deliver a product and provide a service that helps people.
5) How do you deal with competition? What sets your company apart from others?
At this point in time, I look at the competition as builders who are working alongside us. We are all laying the foundation for our industry to succeed and take it where it needs to go. What may set us apart from competition at this point is our vision. We truly believe in the long term success of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
6) What do you look for when hiring people at your company?
I look for people who are the puzzle pieces that we’re currently missing. Anyone who can teach us something we don’t already know and do it with our vision in mind, is an asset.
7) What is the one thing you wish your customers knew when signing up for your card?
I wish they knew they’re helping start something very big.
8) What does 2020 have in store?
Today, after many years of stability, the world is more leveraged than ever. Leverage in businesses that don’t have cash reserves, just-in-time supply chains that have no buffer, employees without savings, even our bureaucratic processes in western countries have become inflexible to change. With COVID19, we are realizing that this leverage comes at a cost. And the cost is adaptability to change. As people, businesses and governments are realizing this, they start to deleverage. You can see it in the markets, where pretty much everything is on sale as everyone is trying to reduce risk, but there are no buyers of risk left.
9) What does that mean for our industry?
Crypto is in a unique position for this future. On one side, there is not much leverage in crypto businesses. While crypto as an asset class went through some deleveraging of its own, which was mainly triggered by crypto hedge funds & individuals who were too leveraged and because crypto is highly liquid, it’s one of the fastest ways to get back to cash (cash is king in times of uncertainty).
The more important part however is: Where does our industry fit into the bigger picture in times of economic crisis and never-seen-before amounts of money printing? I expect volatility to increase both short term and long term, with massive increases in both industry and crypto asset prices over the mid-to-long term. There are not many asset classes left that you want to buy in times like this. The upcoming halving in bitcoin (daily bitcoin mining supply will go from $11m to $5.5m at current prices) will lead to increased buying pressure, which in turn has a very strong chance of becoming a feedback loop for the public to take notice. At the same time, public awareness of money printing being a tax through inflation is increasing: “Money printer go brrr” made it as a headline into the Economist and people are starting to question the norm.
My expectations for TenX: Our industry will see a massive influx of new users who will need help to navigate crypto and our job is to welcome these users, educate them about the risks and keep their crypto assets secure.
10) How can people use TenX’s services?
We recently re-launched our TenX Cards in Europe, along with a Buying Bitcoin feature. We are thrilled to be able to once again serve customers in Germany and Austria as the first two markets, with subsequent roll out to the remaining. Our approach to re-launching our card is coupled with a brand new feature within the TenX Wallet app that makes buying crypto super simple. Card holders will be able to make purchases at over 54 million points of acceptance, globally.
