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Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department

Photo for the Article - Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department

Paul Soliman, the chief executive officer of Bayanichain, a web3-based venture firm that offers blockchain-based solutions, joined BitPinas Junior Editor Nathaniel Cajuday in talking about Prismo, a currently developing accountability layer. 

  • The interview happened during the “Build with Prismo: Web3 Architecture Workshop,” a technical blockchain architecture seminar utilizing Prismo, on October 11, 2024. 

In Focus: Prismo is a soon-to-launch L2 blockchain that seeks to revolutionize data integrity, transactional transparency, and accountability in digital transactions. It is a hybrid private-public blockchain that will ensure confidentiality and compliance while maintaining transparency and decentralized trust.

  • Recent news: Prismo has been chosen as one of the eight projects in the first cohort of Quadratic Accelerator, a Polygon-based web3 accelerator that aims to enable community-first, fair launches for blockchain-based projects. 

The following excerpt from the interview focuses on Soliman’s answers on how the general public will feel the effects of Prismo and when will the blockchain be fully functional. 



Interview with Paul Soliman of Bayanichain

Nathaniel Cajuday, Junior Editor, BitPinas: Good afternoon, everyone, Nath here from BitPinas, and here with us is Paul Soliman, the CEO of Bayanichain. Good afternoon, Paul.

I just want to ask, what pushed Bayanichain to launch Prismo?

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Paul Soliman, Chief Executive Officer, Bayanichain: Bayanichain has been dealing with projects with the government and enterprises. So while we were implementing these projects, we saw a need to create our own layer two blockchain that may focus on privacy of data. 

And not all data can be uploaded to the blockchain because it will be publicly available and can be seen by anyone. Of course, our clients want to have on-chain transactions but not all can be uploaded to the public blockchain. 

So, we did research on how to make private data on-chain, and we’re building Prismo, which is a layer two blockchain that has a focus on privacy through homomorphic encryption and a vector database for data retrieval.

Blockchain Migration

Cajuday: Are your clients aware that your projects with them are transitioning to Prismo? 

Soliman: Currently, Bayanichain’s clients are using the Polygon POS and they are aware of it, while their private data is on the private blockchain or private SQL. 

So about the migration, of course, we are informing them about it. And in fact, they see it as a better choice because their data is more secure if they use Prismo. But we admit that ‌migration is not easy. Not all clients of Bayanichain also need Prismo’s homomorphic encryption.

On the other hand, others can also migrate to Prismo since it is a layer two blockchain. Similar to other layer two, EVM-based chains, any data can be migrated to Prismo and others can use their smart contracts built on Ethereum. 

Also, Prismo is built on Polygon zkEVM, so there is no difference in what Bayanichain has been using. 

Prismo’s Benefits

Cajuday: Let us talk about the effects of Prismo in public, how will the general public feel its benefits?

Soliman: Well, blockchain, in general, is still an emerging technology. Currently, the public only knows blockchain use cases such as cryptocurrency and NFTs. They may also be aware of preserving documents and verifiable credentials. 

If we talk about how the general public will feel Prismo’s advantages, I think, they will not experience it immediately, unless our development and employment are rapid, which is if we convince the whole government to put everything on the blockchain. 

But yeah, I think it’s going to be one year to two years, for them to experience it.  

Cajuday: But for now, what government agencies have already shown their interest in adopting Prismo?

Soliman: We already have a project with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Additionally, we’re gonna launch something with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines about digital copyright—which is not only Prismo, but blockchain in general.

We are going to be launching our project with Cavite  City, the first-ever local government unit that we have partnered with. 

There are other projects lined up but we want to prioritize our partnership with the DBM because it is the most important thing for the public to see where the government’s budget goes. 

Cajuday: So, what’s next for Prismo? 

Soliman: Currently, Prismo is still in the development network. We’re going to try to do a test network around maybe this December or January next year. However, that testnet is more of a layer two. The main network launch is expected to happen as early as the first quarter of 2025. 

We can only launch the standard layer two. But when it comes to fully homomorphic encryption, I don’t have a timeline yet, because it needs more research and funding. But for the token, we’re checking if we can launch that in December or the first quarter of next year. 


Recap: Build with Prismo: Web3 Architecture Workshop

The following is the BitPinas coverage, posted on social media, of the Prismo event last October 11, 2024:

  • Bayanichain CEO Paul Soliman leads the “Build with Prismo: Web3 Architecture Workshop,” a technical blockchain architecture seminar utilizing Prismo, a soon-to-launch accountability layer. 
Photo for the Article - Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department
  • Prismo is a public-private blockchain that is designed to transform digital transactions with a focus on transparency, integrity, and trust. 
Photo for the Article - Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department
  • Currently, Prismo has a functioning minimum viable product (MVP) already implemented within the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of the country.
Photo for the Article - Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department
  • Prismo is utilized by the DBM to add security to critical budget documents, including the Special Allotment Release Orders (SARO). 
Photo for the Article - Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department

This article is published on BitPinas: Interview: Blockchain for the Public Sector? Prismo Paves Begins with Project with Budget Department

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