Well, what a year it was! Let’s start this post right – by thanking each and every one of you reading this who supported us through our initial development and growth phases. While the team at Black Tie are extremely proud of the developments we’ve achieved and the milestones we’ve conquered on our path to this point, we are even more proud of the amazing community who continue to support us in our endeavours to this very day. So - here’s to you!

But - we hear you say - what is this Black Tie business you’ve been hearing so much about? Well, let us break our silence with some fantastic news!

Welcome to B4BIZ - a division of Black Tie Digital!

2021 saw some tough hurdles and notable challenges, as well as some fantastic successes and incredible opportunities. For a variety of reasons which will be outlined below, we have chosen to rebrand this platform as B4BIZ - a name which reflects our role and position within the emerging blockchain-enabled digital economy, while also proudly displaying the platform’s involvement in the Black Tie Digital ecosystem.

Black Tie Digital - the original service provision partner for the Zipett platform - has moved to cement a strong position as a pioneer in the blockchain-as-a-service industry. To this end, we are in the process of developing and launching three revolutionary interconnected platforms in conjunction with leading industry partners.

B4REAL is our crypto-enabled real estate marketplace, servicing both Australian and international buyers in our local property market, and allowing them to interact with our extensive network of vendors, property developers, real estate agencies, lending providers and associated support partners - all while using their digital currency holdings as a transactional medium.

B4POWER is still under development, so we can’t share too much right now - but it’s safe to let you know that we are working on a tokenised renewable energy marketplace, incorporating fractional ownership of off-site solar and bio-gasification projects, which is intended to allow for direct crediting of renewable energy generation through an industry-first partnership with a leading national energy retailer.

And finally, B4BIZ is our reconceptualisation of the B2B and B2C digital marketplace you’ve all come to know and love. We’re extremely excited to share some of the upcoming changes, refinements, and developments we have in store for the platform.

We have chosen to move in this new direction for a few reasons. Firstly, the Zipett brand (and its associated token, ZIPC) was facing a significant battle when it came to consumer recognition and brand association. With the recent launch in Australia of the Zipmex exchange, and - significantly - the entrance of ZipPay into the crypto space with their recently announced ZIPT token, there was a question we had to ask ourselves.

Should we fight to ensure the primacy of the Zipett name within this congested branding domain, taking up valuable time and resources, or do we seek to align our public image with a name which more strongly reflects our core values - who we are, and what we do?

The answer seemed simple.

There were also questions of the direction of the platform. For context, the team at Black Tie Digital were approached in early 2021 by representatives of the Zipett brand, seeking an alliance to help bring their dreams to reality. While both parties have grown as a result of this mutually beneficial partnering - in which Zipett provided the brand, initial sales network, and token, and Black Tie provided the technical development, corporate and commercial networks, and administrative support - ultimately our paths diverged.

At Black Tie Digital, we believe in playing to our strengths. Over the past 30 years, our core team - almost all of whom have been brought across from our parent company, Progressive Investment Management - have had a history of commercial success by remaining true to our core values - that our networks and clients are our most valuable assets, that success should never come at the cost of ethics, and that our role is as a facilitator and provider of effective solutions to businesses globally.

For this reason, we have chosen to remain true to the promises we made to our clients - to deliver a marketplace and a directory supported by a treasury-backed stablecoin, allowing businesses and consumers to safely enter into this new and exciting digital economy.

Ultimately, the joint executive management team had differences of opinion on the most effective and sustainable manner in which to move the overall platform forward. As the independence of each party was inviolable, a decision had to be made to move in separate directions.

We understand the team at Zipett are moving at a rapid pace towards the deployment of the Z4LIFE platform, which is centered upon securities trading and holistic health services, and we applaud them for their incredible efforts in bringing a strong offering to market in an impressive timeframe, as well as their admirable dedication to their community. We wish them all the best in their endeavours, and intend on supporting them in any way we reasonably can. Further information on the Z4LIFE platform can be found at https://z4life.io/

Of course, there is also the question of ZIPC. As this was a token created by the Zipett team in November of 2020 - months before our mutual alignment - and due to the immutable nature of blockchain-based technology, no changes were able to be made to it. However, it became increasingly evident over the past year that utilising a layer-1 Ethereum-based token would only become feasible for a highly transactional platform once Ethereum 2.0 was released - and while the team at Black Tie Digital are big fans of Vitalik, Ethereum and everything they’ve done for the community and the industry, time waits for no man (or woman)... and neither can we.

Therefore, we are incredibly excited to announce that we have launched a new token - B4B, the utility token supporting the B4BIZ platform! And the best part? Those of you who supported us in our journey to this point have already been credited!

Unfortunately, we are still waiting on Google and Apple to approve our app updates so that the B4B wallet can be displayed. However, our supporters can use the block explorer at https://polygonscan.com/ to check your wallet address (it’s the same as your ZIPC address!) and see the transaction that’s already deposited B4B into your account. If you don’t see any B4B – don’t worry, we have another blog post out tomorrow explaining your situation.

We have taken advantage of the amazing progress the team at Polygon have made over the past few years, and launched B4B on their Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain. This allows for highly significant reductions in transaction costs, as well as a marked improvement in transaction validation speeds. We also believe that the Polygon chain presents strong growth potential, while maintaining admirable securitisation protocols.

We have a lot more to come. B4BIZ’s integration within the BT ecosystem is going to allow for interaction directly with the B4REAL real estate market, and our intentions for B4POWER create another layer in which our community can get involved and reap the rewards of early adoption. The agreements we are negotiating with blue-chip lending partners - banks, no less - will allow our community to access unparalleled financing opportunities. And this is just the beginning. Usability upgrades, increased community interactivity, advanced merchant support and more… we’re just getting started.

Welcome to B4BIZ, a division of Black Tie Digital. The future is looking bright.

Stay tuned for Part 2, in which we outline our plans for our community, and a special offer for all ZIPC holders!