Design and development of a blockchain-based crypto currency platform with sophisticated AML/KYC mechanism & an advanced translation interface

We got introduced to this project right from the product innovation stage, when the client team was still brainstorming and finalizing the product concepts based on customer needs, concept testing, and market research. We started with a single page information website development, and gradually came on board as technical consultant team for the product. We were selected after several rounds of meetings, and after the client was convinced that we can not only execute the initial requirement, which was a simple task, but we shall be able to provide an in-depth technical consultation and can act as a technical expert during the upcoming complex development phases. And indeed, we perfectly fulfilled the expectation. Over next 2 years, we remained a steady technical partner, and oversaw the project from a simple one page site, to a fully funded growing startup in the blockchain space. 

Phase I

The purpose of this phase was to get us a basic platform.The main site was to be designed and then followed by a dashboard. Following that basic registration and AML / KYC procedures needed to be set up.

Design of The Front-end Site and The Back-end Platform

The main challenge was to design an extremely impressive landing page. The client was concerned because they needed to put in and convey a lot of information, but they didn't want to make the design boring. He wanted to make it extremely appealing and trendy, while not losing out on the opportunity to display the necessary information. Our designing team did an excellent job on this, and after a lot of deliberation, discussion, and going back and forth, finally, we came up with a design that was appealing, interactive, and informative. Next began the dashboard design. This needed to be simple, easy flowing, and readable without too flashy elements and complications. Our designing team worked tirelessly on this and was able to come up with a great layout. This would be modified time and again in the coming days, as more and more sections would be built.

User Registration & Initial Steps

The main target at this point was to get people to start registering as soon as possible. We needed to have 2 registration types, company, and individual. Each of them will have a separate set of fields to fill out later on. As soon as users register, a verification link would be sent over through email. Once confirmed, they would log in and set a password. As soon as the password is set, they would be asked to do mobile verification (this would be changed later on in favor of 2FA). This was a mandatory step and users would not be allowed to navigate elsewhere without completing this. SMS code would be sent to their mobile number and the user needed to add the code and validate it. Once done, users would be redirected to their dashboard and asked to be AML/KYC.

Support Ticketing System

The next very important step was to make users submit their AML / KYC. But before that, we needed an in-depth support ticketing system, since the AML/ KYC submission and approval would be tied to this. We built this system from the ground up and implemented every single thing that was needed as per plan for this AML / KYC procedure, as well as for its general functioning. This included the admin tools like statistics on the ticket movement and an in-depth status system for easy manipulation of the submitted tickets. Once the registration was live, the client foresaw that this will be very crucial for his data team and we needed to make this absolutely flawless.

AML / KYC Procedure

Finally, it’s the last main bit for Phase I - AML / KYC Procedure. First of all, this would have 3 stages - Clearance Level I, II, and III. Each has an extensive number of fields. The users would submit for one Clearance Level and then the admin would be able to review, approve, reject or request a change, based on what they have submitted. If any change was requested, then users would be notified and they would have to re-submit the documentation. Once approved of one clearance level, users can apply for the next clearance and so on. This entire process was tied to the support ticketing system and the entire system was a pain to build and test. But we were really amazed how good it turned out to be, once this was all completed, and people started to use it.

Phase II

The purpose of this phase was to build ourselves some very necessary tools before actually starting to implement ITO and Pre ITO features which were next in line. The three main extensive requirements for this were an in-depth translation system, a solid notification system, and an extensive referral system.

Translation Mechanism Enhancement

With registrations flowing in from all over the world, thanks to the client's ambitious marketing efforts, we soon had users from almost 120 countries. With this, came the need to be able to translate the site into all possible languages. And this was not one man's job. The client wanted to appoint translators from various countries who would translate everything in the site to that language - website content, document links like pitch deck and white paper, email contents, etc. Going forward this needs to be extended to other things that are built like a newsletter, order form, etc. We looked at Drupal's core translation system. Though it was an excellent base, it was nothing compared to what was needed in order to achieve this. We understood that we need to come up with an extremely creative and robust solution by using what was available and then building the remaining on top of it. After months of work, we did it, and it was really a proud moment for the entire team. We have been using that system everywhere for the last 8 months and it's functioning perfectly. With almost 110 translators using the system every day, it is capable of translating each new content into hundreds of different languages.

Newsletter & Notification System

Next in the line was the development of an in-depth notification and newsletter system. The client wanted to build this system from the grounds up in order to be able to send newsletter notifications to all its registered users, which by now, in just a span of a few months has grown to over 40,000. He wanted to send almost 2 batches of newsletters daily which means almost 80,000 emails going out. He wanted to also achieve a send-out rate of 20,000 per hour. After due research, we agreed to use the Amazon SES service as SMTP. We were already using AWS for hosting and this served as a perfect fit. We did extensive coding for the entire newsletter system ensuring seamless use by the client's data team. We also had to make sure that they could create newsletters and easily choose through the interface the target recipient groups based on the wizard and then send the newsletter out. We used the concept of a multi concurrency queue in this case and used it as a Drush command. Another mission well accomplished!

Referral Programme

The next and last bit, before we could move ahead with the ITO and pre ITO sale set up was the implementation of an in-depth referral program. Even though the client's marketing campaigns have been super successful, he really wanted to push the pedal and wanted to spread out as much as possible. One great way of doing this was an extensive referral program. The referral program would work by giving a unique referral link to potential users and once other users registered using that link, certain tokens would be awarded as a referral bonus. Once the blockchain would go live, users would be able to withdraw these tokens. The referral program though looks simple outwardly. However, behind the scene, we coded two other major aspects of it. One was an in-depth statistics report which would show which referrer referred how many users and then charts showing per country and per timeframe divisions, so that client's backend team would be able to track the progress and take various corrective measures. And last but not the least, we needed to devise an in-depth mechanism of withdrawal mechanism for the amount that users got. We did solid foundation work for this but postponed it for later as we realized this would be used more only after Pre ITO and ITO sales.

Phase III

Pre ITO and ITO sales mechanisms needed to be coded, so users could actually purchase tokens.

Asset Creation and Sub-account Creation

We detailed out the entire flow and then started with the asset creation steps. Though initially, only asset needed to be created, but for later, this would be used by others to create their own assets. Hence it was important to get this foundation right. We also needed to set up the approval process of this. Finally through the implemented mechanism we created. With asset creation, we needed to create concept for sub accounts. So in a nutshell, the total coin offering would be broken down into sub accounts, like Pre ITO, ITO etc and then a price would be attached to it. Some sub accounts were created which was not sellable, and only admin could transfer tokes from and to that sub account. These were all accompanied by detailed logs , support tickets and email integration.

Order Forms

The next step was to set up order forms where users could purchase the tokens. This needed an in depth currency conversion mechanism we we implemented a 3rd party API for this. This also needed a dynamic price switcher, as the sell was on, from pre ITO to ITO Phase I to ITO Phase II and so on, the prices of the tokens would change and the pay out needed to be calculated dynamically. This involved huge amount of complexity and an extensive handling of cub cases that branched out as we were going forward with the flow. Finally, after quite a few months of extensive effort all were sotted, and we finally made Pre ITO live, which was a huge success. Son ITO phases were launched and they were success as well.

Phase IV (ongoing)

This is the most important phase. Now that people have purchased tokens and all going well, we are in the process of connecting the system to the blockchain. The client entered into an agreement with ARDOR and we would be implementing the ARDOR API. Starting from waller creation to node handlers all will he handled through the API. Extensive work is in progress regarding this, and we are hopeful in coming days this will be released out to public.