Individuals will be able to invest in “data funds” in exchange for a new digital currency
Datavest and digi.me have announced a partnership at the KNOW Identity Conference to enable individuals to receive a monetary return by investing the data they produce on a daily basis. Datavest has also been selected as a finalist in the conference’s startup competition, which brings together leading ventures in personal data and identity.
Based in Los Angeles, datavest is a user-owned marketplace for personal data. Its consumer app, which will go live later this year, allows individuals to earn a new blockchain-based digital currency called Datanotes (DXN) by investing anonymised data in different types of data funds. Companies can pay to subscribe to data funds, allowing individuals to directly participate in the current and future economic value of their data.
“Personal data is a valuable new type of personal asset,” said Rob Stone, founder and CEO of datavest. “We believe hundreds and ultimately thousands of dollars can be realized by individuals each year both from revenue generated by their data and from participating in the capital value of their data. We have all the tools for a person’s data to become a sustainable contributor to achieving a Universal Basic Income (UBI).”
Digi.me, based in the United Kingdom, allows individuals to securely import and privately share data from thousands of different sources, including leading social networks, banks, credit cards, health providers, wearables (IoT) and entertainment apps. Datavest users will be able to use digi.me to aggregate and share data they choose with datavest.
“We are excited to see startups like datavest partnering with digi.me,” said Shane Green, CEO (US) of digi.me. “By providing a secure, decentralised, and consent-based architecture, the digi.me platform will enable innovative companies to focus their efforts on creating new ways for individuals to leverage the value of their data.”
“Both companies share a passion for enabling individuals to benefit from their data,” said Julian Ranger, founder and chairman of digi.me. “In light of recent headlines, it’s hard to overstate how big of a social and economic change we expect as people finally realise how valuable their data can be when under their control.”
Both Shane Green and Rob Stone will be speaking on the value of personal data at the KNOW Identity conference.