Anietie Asuquo: Building Monchain to Redefine Trust and Safety in Crypto

Let’s start at the beginning—what inspired the idea for Monchain?

It was a mix of personal frustration and professional insight. At Binance, I constantly saw how even experienced traders were blindsided by security exploits, compromised third-party systems, and malicious smart contracts. The tools meant to protect them were either too technical or came in after the damage was done.

Then it hit me personally. A sophisticated security breach exploited a vulnerability within a third-party wallet I was using, leading to a loss I couldn't recover even with all my years of experience and professional resources. That moment changed everything. I realized that crypto didn’t just need smarter tools. It needed proactive, AI-powered protection that regular users could actually understand and trust.

That’s how the concept of Monchain was born: a secure platform that prevents fraud before it happens, while giving users the control and speed they expect. Our Hybrid Exchange model brings together the best parts of decentralized and centralized finance in one ecosystem.

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What makes Monchain different from other platforms in the space?

We’re going against the grain in several ways.

First, we’re proactive—not reactive. Our AI scans contracts, transactions, and wallets in real-time before users interact with them. Most platforms rely on static blacklists or manual reviews. We’ve built a fraud detection engine that uses real-time blockchain monitoring, deep learning models trained on billions of transactions, and community intel.

Second, we break the usual trade-off between security and convenience. Our HEX architecture gives users fast, liquid trading without giving up self-custody.

Third, accessibility. Security tools can be overwhelming. Monchain delivers insights in plain language—fraud scores, risk alerts—so anyone can understand and act on them.

We’re also building a unified ecosystem: wallet, fraud detection, and exchange, all integrated from the ground up. That’s never been done before at this level. And all of this is shaped by our own experiences as victims—we know what real threats feel like.

What does the typical user journey on Monchain look like — from first interaction to becoming a regular trader?

Today, the journey begins with our fraud scoring module, which is already live. Users typically arrive through our website and run real-time evaluations on wallet addresses to assess fraud risk before interacting with them.

This first touchpoint educates users about threats and helps them make safer decisions immediately. As we roll out our non-custodial wallet and Hybrid Exchange, the journey will evolve into a more seamless experience:

1. Discovery: New users will most-likely learn about us on social media, in conferences, ads, chat groups, and educational materials that explain how crypto works. Existing users will be reached through existing channels.

2. Engagement: They onboard into our secure wallet and/or exchange. Some users might first try-out our fraud scoring tool to gain insight into crypto frauds, and understand our platform in the process.

3. Trading: They transact confidently on our exchange with full protection.

4. Growth: Over time, users can unlock premium features, participate in staking, and contribute to our community ecosystem.

We see this progression — from education to protection to active participation—as essential to building lasting trust.

How do you think Monchain fits into the broader AI + crypto landscape?

We see a convergence coming. AI is becoming more human-aware, and crypto is becoming more mainstream. But without trust, both fall apart.

Monchain is positioned at that intersection—using AI to make crypto safer, and using crypto principles like decentralization and transparency to make AI more accountable.

It’s a feedback loop: smarter fraud detection leads to better safety data, which improves our models, which in turn makes the entire ecosystem more resilient. We’re not just watching the future evolve—we’re helping shape it.

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Do you have a co-founder?

At the moment, I'm a solo founder. But I'm not doing it alone — I've assembled a small but capable team of engineers and designers to bring Monchain to life. I've led development on the backend and infrastructure myself, while working with skilled freelance engineers on the frontend and UI. Alongside this, I've built a strong network of advisors with deep expertise in blockchain security, AI, and fintech. As we grow, I'm open to bringing on a co-founder or senior leadership who shares the same conviction about building a hybrid exchange and making crypto safer and more accessible.

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How does Monchain make money today, and what are the long-term revenue streams you envision?

Right now, our focus is on product development and growing our user base rather than immediate revenue.

Long-term, our revenue stream includes three strategies:

(1) Trading Fees: Our exchange will earn fees from trading. We also plan to offer staking incentives tied to our native token.

(2) Subscription Plans: We'll offer premium subscriptions for advanced fraud detection, priority support, smart contract audits, and premium wallet features tailored to high-volume traders and professional users.

(3) SaaS and Enterprise Integrations: Over time, we'll expand into enterprise security integrations, API access, developer tools, and integrations with wallets, protocols, and exchanges that want to integrate with our fraud detection engine.

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What’s your distribution strategy — are you planning partnerships, creator campaigns, or something else?

Yes we are going to partner with wallets, exchanges, and DeFi platforms that want to offer built-in fraud detection to their users. These partnerships will help us reach users at critical decision points.

And yes we're also going to collaborate with creators to help bring our product to users on social platforms. When we launch our native token, we will run a series of airdrops and reward early adopters and contributors who help grow our network.

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Who are you targeting in your go-to-market strategy — retail users, institutions, or developers? Why them first?

We're focused on retail crypto users for now, especially people who are security-conscious but underserved by the existing systems. This audience is currently using existing CEXs and DEXs, and feel the impact of fraud and scams most directly and are actively searching for more proactive solutions. Starting with retail users helps us validate our approach and build a community.

At the same time, we're building relationships with developers and infrastructure providers who want to integrate our fraud detection into their wallets and dApps. Working with developers creates distribution leverage and credibility. As we expand, we'll engage institutional partners who see Monchain as a shared security layer for their platforms.

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What’s your long-term vision for Monchain?

Our vision is to become the most trusted name in crypto security. We're building more than a product—we’re building infrastructure that sets the new standard for trust in Web3.

In the short term, that means expanding our AI fraud engine, launching APIs and developer tools, and finalizing the Hybrid Exchange.

Long term, I see Monchain being embedded across the ecosystem—protecting wallets, informing protocols, and giving everyday users confidence they’ve never had before.

When we succeed, losing your savings to security breaches and malicious actors will become rare, not routine. Platforms will rely on Monchain as a shared security layer. And we’ll help transform crypto from a risky frontier into a secure, transparent economy where anyone can participate.