In this episode, host Sunny Ray sits down with Alan Wunsche, founder of TokenFunder, to trace his path from a banking and technology background into the world of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Wunsche describes an eclectic career that began with a chemistry and business degree, a CPA designation, and early coding work, followed by years inside large banks and PricewaterhouseCoopers wrestling with fragmented financial systems. He explains how discovering Bitcoin around 2013 to 2014, and later Ethereum's programmable token standard, convinced him blockchain could solve real inefficiencies in global finance. Wunsche recounts demonstrating Bitcoin's power to skeptical corporate executives using a simple wallet transfer, and how that experience shaped his decision to build TokenFunder. He details working with the Ontario Securities Commission's LaunchPad to create one of the first regulated security tokens, accepting Bitcoin and Ether while offering investors a real offering memorandum and audited financials, a stark contrast to the largely unregulated ICO craze of 2017. The conversation also touches on his family's immigration from Czechoslovakia and his early involvement fostering Toronto's blockchain meetup community.
Alan Wunsche traces his path from banking to building TokenFunder, one of the first regulated security tokens accepting Bitcoin and Ether.
Can you share your backstory before Bitcoin and Ethereum came into your life?
I had an eclectic career. I started as a chemistry and business major, got my MBA, then became a CPA through PricewaterhouseCoopers in the 90s. I worked on major financial systems for global companies, then left to run an early startup and help build what became the MARS Discovery District, before returning to a Canadian international bank on a massive data systems assignment.
What first drew you into the blockchain space?
I was working inside a bank seeing hundreds of disconnected systems and constant struggles with reconciliations, cross-border payments, and risk management. Around 2013 to 2014 I started hearing about Bitcoin but no one at the bank wanted to talk about it. By 2015, when Ethereum launched in Toronto, I got hooked on the idea of programmable, trustless value transfer.
What made Ethereum's programmability so compelling to you?
Once I saw you could program the Ethereum blockchain into autonomous decisions moving value trustlessly, I was hooked. When the ERC20 proposal came out, it let anyone create a token that could act like a bank account or shareholder register in just a few dozen lines of code. I knew immediately this was the start of a new asset class.
Can you share an example of showing skeptics the power of this technology?
At a conference with world-class CIOs who'd never heard of Bitcoin, I pulled out my wallet, had them download wallets, and sent them a small amount of Bitcoin peer to peer. When I asked how many financial institutions were needed to approve that transfer and the answer was zero, that's when the penny dropped for the whole room.
What led you to start TokenFunder?
I wanted to actually build something rather than just talk about the space. In summer 2016 I presented to the Ontario Securities Commission as Blockchain Canada, explaining Bitcoin, Ethereum, and tokens. Around the same time the OSC launched its LaunchPad, and I proposed building a regulated security token through the Canadian regulatory regime, accepting Bitcoin and Ether.
How was TokenFunder different from the ICOs happening in 2017?
Most 2017 white papers said you had no rights and were basically donating your crypto for tokens. We came out with a real offering memorandum, audited financials, and a regulated security token that would share platform profits as dividends. It scared off some of the crypto community, but it showed a real regulated company stood behind it.
What was exemptive relief and how did TokenFunder obtain it?
Exemptive relief meant the OSC gave us leeway from certain securities rules to operate in a way they were comfortable with. It took many months of internal demos explaining how Bitcoin worked, how wallets and tokens functioned, before we became the first startup through their LaunchPad to establish that relationship in 2017.
Building something daring? Sunny talks to founders like this every day. Fifteen minutes to see if your story belongs on the stage.
Claim your pre-interview