Text extracted via OCR from the original document. May contain errors from the scanning process.
Subject:
Attachments: NR_First_Look.pdf; ATT00001.htm; Signed_MOU_Schouten-
MGH_signed_by_Schouten_24_Sep_18_(4).pdf; ATT00002.htm
I am attaching an email I received from Bo. I thought u would enjoy
Sent from my iPhone
Nick,
As always thank you for your support in our endeavors. It was always a pleasure to see you and share the evolution of
our company.
I can't thank you enough for the introduction to Jefferey. With all due respect I want to call him "Professor". He has
sparked in me a thirst for even more knowledge regarding the cryptographic economy (the matrix) and the extraordinary
(and nearly infinite) ways that keen perception of both the old and new worlds can lead to extraordinary value.
The Prof is clearly a fantastic teacher (and a kind one at that). My parents were both teachers - and each om them lived
their early careers on the cutting of technological change. My mother taught the first computer science classes in the
Texas public high schools on Apple 2 computers (circa 1979) and my father taught engineering briefly at Texas A&M and
then later went on to help design the patriot missile systems (circa 1980). I say all this to reflect on many years of having
to recognize my own ego and set it aside when challenged by great teachers. It has been a very long time since I feel like
I was so artfully taught a new reality at the very moment I was so certain of my viewpoint. I do appreciate deeply The
Prof's patience (and likely amusement) while I struggled to set my own ego aside. He has opened up at least a number of
new doors for intellectual and pragmatic inquiry that I have already begun pursuing. I can only wonder how many more
doors there are yet unseen by me. I was so intrigued, in fact, that I stayed in Thursday night reading IRS. This very
preliminary research leads me to believe the issue Ile highlighted regarding U.S. taxation is not insurmountable and in
fact if properly addressed might lead to some patentable IP giving us a further advantage in our operations. I do hope that
The Prof will be patient with my persistent request for time with him. Learning is a passion of mine and I feel like he just
uncovered the first of a series of clues in the quest for the blockchain equivalent of "the search for the ark of the
covenant". It would be cruel to leave me stranded just outside the door of knowledge. ;). All kidding aside - I do hope a
The Prof will invest more time in exploring this brave new world (and in his mutual interest). So I have begun the rabbit
hole of serious investigation of the barter/taxation issue. I expect to have some ideas about addressing this in a few
weeks - now I believe the issue to be solvable as it is in the end manipulation of data and code (both computer and legal).
I very much see this as an opportunity more than I do an obstacle.
If you recall, the issue did lead us down a natural conclusion of operating in foreign jurisdictions with exclusively foreign
clients. This is an idea we have embraced early on and have already forged plan to pursue this aggressively. We did not
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have much time to discuss it, but we have a detailed document put together to describe or plan and the opportunity for
investors around the globe to participate I am attaching it here for you to forward to The Prof. As a note, I have years of
experience dealing with foreign regulators in the exchange space and founded the Dubai Mercantile Exchange In 2004
(launched 2007) which I believe brings enough gravitas to the plan below:
Mercantile Exchange Franchise Program
Mercantile Global Holdings will establish franchises in the following foreign jurisdictions to the extent that they allow
digital asset exchanges (locations in negotiation are highlighted in yellow):
1. Americas
a. Canada
b. Brazil
c. Mexico
d. Argentina
e. Colombia
2. Pacific Rim
a. Hong Kong
b. Shanghai (when allowed)
c. Singapore
d. Japan
e. Korea
f. Indonesia (when allowed)
g. India GIFT City
h. Australia
i. Thailand
j. Philippines
3. Middle East
a.
4. Africa
a. Nigeria
b. South Africa
S. Europe
a. Switzerland
b. Monaco
c. Malta or Gibralter
d. United Kingdom
e. Ireland
UAE (most likely Dubai)
Each franchise will offer trading terminals in English and local languages (already enabled in most cases). The terminals
(and global system) will establish liquidity in products that are traded globally, as well as products that are traded locally.
In addition, it puts us in a position to to capitalize on local order flow distribution channels that leverage each
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jurisdictions particular regulatory framework for broker dealers, future commissions merchants, FX platforms and other
participants. My experience in global markets has taught me that while the prices for a given commodity can largely be
global, the participation in liquidity remains a relative local phenomenon driven by relationships and regional nuances
(like language, regulatory principles, tax regimes, etc.). This particularly applies to Bank Secrecy Act regulation and
limitations. While most of these countries are either directly or indirectly involved in FATF the actual boots on the
ground application of these principles varies significantly from region to region. The application of our concept therefore
aggregates global liquidity pools extremely efficiently while respecting each jurisdiction regulatory requirements —
including, and especially, the United States.
The secret sauce to the franchise concept is aggregating each unique regional pool of liquidity into an effective singular
pool of liquidity using extremely advanced and proprietary features of our match engine (briefly discussed with The
Prof).
The execution of each franchise will be driven by 3 factors:
1. Technology License
2. Management Services Agreements
3. Guaranteed access to USD and generally the GIO cash currencies through our bank, provided the individual
account holders qualify.
4. Guaranteed access to a substantial suite of stable coins if clients DON'T qualify for a US Bank account with us.
5. Equity Participation to be determined. In discussions thus far, most investors actually want us to maintain
operational control and we receive a 50% profits participation after some return hurdle. I will attach a pending
negotiation as an example.
There are several ways to participate in our waterfall of opportunities, including, and I HIGHLY recommend, an
investment in the holding company that benefits the most from our total vision — Mercantile Global Holdings.
I have also attached a power point that I hope sheds light on our vision of the future and what we have built thus far. It is
incomplete (so please only forward to The Prof and ask him NOT to forward). It will be complete this week with
financial data and could stimulate further dialogue. Clearly The Prof has some specific ideas of how the opportunities in
blockchain might be pursued and I would love to have a jam session on that alone.
Let me know as soon as possible when we can next get together with The Prof. As you know, Galaxy (Mike Novogratz)
has recently agreed to raise the remaining 13.5 million we want to capitalize the holding company with and we expect
that close to happen in mid - late March (which happens to coincide with our launch).
Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Bo
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