Nationsfirst Technologies is pioneering blockchain technology

At Montreal's airport, Denita Gladeau and Ethan Clark were waiting in a terminal for a flight to Vancouver when the topic of blockchain technology came up. The two, both founders of consultancies, questioned how its tamper-proof data sharing was being used for Indigenous communities. The only example they could find was the now-ceased Mazacoin, created by the Lakota Nation, more than nine years before the day of that conversation.

Knowing that blockchain's potential went far beyond digital currencies, the entrepreneurs envisioned a platform where its features and tools would promote financial sovereignty, self-governance, and data ownership. According to their research, Indigenous communities in Canada face a $500 billion infrastructure gap, and 50 percent of individuals are unbanked or underbanked. Additionally, over 80 percent of Indigenous organizations report data sovereignty concerns, and only 0.02 percent of venture capital funding goes to Indigenous entrepreneurs. That conversation continued after they landed in Vancouver, and within that month, it became the foundation for Nationsfirst Technologies.