Aniket Warty

Director at Atlantis Inc

Money

Never Sleeps

Aniket Warty is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for building businesses from scratch. He specialises in online gaming, e-commerce, and IT, and is the Director and Board Member of Atlantis Inc, a Venture Capital and Private Equity company based out of the US. Aniket has the unique ability to work in proactively diverse and inclusive organisations across industry types, niches, geographic or linguistic variants. He’s always on the lookout to transform the next innovative idea into a sustainable business that has the vision and foundation to make a positive impact on the world.

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The Zen Entertainment Playbook: The Fan Engine That Hollywood Forgot

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <body style="font-family: Calibri; color:#000000;"> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">The New Entertainment Economy Is Here; And It Will Run on Value-for-Value Rails</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">I run Zen to do one thing well: translate talent into capital without asking anyone for permission. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">If that opening line makes you uncomfortable, good. Entertainment has spent a century confusing “permission” with “distribution.” Studios, labels, ticketing monopolies, and gatekeeper platforms convinced everyone that access to an audience is the same thing as owning the audience. It isn’t. Ownership is the right to set terms and capture the rewards of your work. Period. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">I’m writing this as a builder, not a spectator. Zen’s rails exist to let filmmakers, musicians, OTT publishers, and live-event owners turn attention into working capital and working capital into enduring franchises: <strong>value for value.</strong> </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Below is how we do it, why it matters, and what it looks like in practice for Hollywood, Bollywood, the global music business, and the OTT universe. You can add whatever you wish to these, the philosophical concept would remain the same.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">What’s Broken (and Why We Don’t Pretend Otherwise)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Let’s tell it straight.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Streaming pays in crumbs. </strong> Fractions of a cent per play make for nice graphs and miserable cash flow. One million plays shouldn’t buy you merely your lunch money.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Live events leak value. </strong> Bots and scalpers jump the queue, skim the spread, and stick your real fans with inflated prices. Artists and promoters shoulder the risk while middlemen monetize the chaos.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Film finance is a private club. </strong> If you don’t have the right banker, presales, or franchise IP, you’re pitching into a void. Even when you do raise, “creative control” evaporates the second the check clears.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Rights are a maze. </strong> Royalty splits, backend points, clearance hell; none of this is creative work, yet creators drown in it.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Fan data isn’t yours. </strong> Platforms own it, rent it back to you via paid reach, and call it innovation.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">You can’t fix this with slogans. You fix it with infrastructure that puts cash, rights, and identity in the same flow; and puts creators in charge of that flow.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;"> The Zen Thesis</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Money follows clarity.</strong> Give everyone - creator, investor, partner, fan - a clear, programmable claim on cash flows and access, and value aggregates. That’s it. Our job at Zen is to make that clarity operational, compliant, and instantaneous at global scale.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Here’s the stack:</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong> ZenPays: </strong>Global payments & payouts (fiat ↔ stablecoins), risk-managed for high-velocity entertainment commerce. Think ticketing at scale, micro-purchases, creator subscriptions, instant settlements.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;"></span>&nbsp;<strong>• ZenTokenize: </strong>Tokenization for IP, catalogs, film slates, and live-event inventory. Programmable revenue splits, transfer rules, allowlists/region locks, and secondary-market controls where permitted.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong> ZenX (Exchange): </strong>Liquidity venue for compliant digital assets tied to entertainment economics (utility passes, loyalty, revenue-share where regulations allow). Price discovery without the cowboy nonsense.</p><p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong> ZenOTC: </strong>Institutional rails for studios, promoters, OTTs, and funds: large tickets, hedging, cross-border settlements, treasury conversion.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong> ZenFinance: </strong>Revenue-backed advances for creators and producers. Your catalog, views, tour pre-sales, or OTT receipts become collateral. No IP handovers. Cash in, repayments from revenue streams.</p><p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenID & Loyalty: </strong>Wallet-native identity and rights. Fans earn, unlock, and carry status across your ecosystem: concerts, drops, streams, premieres.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong> ZenTickets: </strong>Anti-bot issuance, verifiable resale, and real-time pricing/controls tied to on-chain identity. Artists and promoters keep the upside; genuine fans keep the seats.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong> ZenAtlas Rail: </strong>The routing layer that stitches banks, blockchains, and partners into one compliant settlement fabric. Not “another chain.” A rail that moves value where it’s needed; and FAST.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Each vertical stands alone; together they behave like a single balance sheet for your intellectual property.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;"> A Creator-First Contract (My Philosophy in Practice)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Rationality in business is not a mood; it’s a contract. <strong>Rational self-interest, property rights, and voluntary exchange.</strong> In entertainment that means:</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>The creator owns the upside. </strong> If you fund with us, the instrument’s terms are explicit and machine-enforced. No “Hollywood accounting.” If X happens, Y hits your wallet.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Fans are not products. </strong> They are customers and, where lawful, investors or members. We architect around their consent and their benefit because that’s how you maximize lifetime value without lying to yourself.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Partners get paid for what they produce. </strong> Everyone in the value chain: distributor, marketer, promoter earns by improving the pie, not by gatekeeping access to it.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> If that sounds blunt, it’s because pretending otherwise is how value keeps vanishing.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;"> What Zen Enables: Concrete Use Cases</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Let’s make this real. Here are explicit flows we run today or can stand up with you within pragmatic timelines.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">1) Fan-Funded Film Slates (Hollywood & Bollywood)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> The problem: Single-picture financing is slow, political, and expensive; backend points rarely materialize for cast/crew; fans get zero beyond a ticket and a T-shirt.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>The Zen model:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Form a production SPV for a <strong>five-film slate </strong>(e.g., mid-budget thrillers or prestige dramas).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenTokenize </strong>issues compliant digital units reflecting revenue-share or debt claims (jurisdiction-dependent).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenPays </strong> handles subscriptions for access tiers: behind-the-scenes feed, table read invites, premiere tickets, and limited merch tied to specific scenes/props.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenID </strong> recognizes top supporters for priority access to future casts, screenings, and location passes.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenFinance </strong> pre-funds part of production/P&A against predictable OTT receipts, tax credits, and territorial pre-sales.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenX/ZenOTC </strong> provide secondary liquidity (where allowed) and risk management (FX, stablecoin hedges) across US, UAE, EU, and India.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it works:</strong> </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> A slate structure smooths variance; programmable splits pay on time; superfans buy access because access is scarce and meaningful (not a jpeg lottery). The studio keeps creative control because the funding contract is mechanical, not editorial.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Illustration: </strong>A ₹120 crore (~$14M) Bollywood action slate tokenizes 30% of expected distributor/OTT receipts. 40,000 global fans buy tiers from ₹999 to ₹24,999 for access + perks; institutions take the larger revenue-share tranche. Crew points are codified into the split contract; day one of receipts, crew gets paid alongside investors. No after-the-fact math tricks.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">2) Anti-Bot, Value-Aligned Ticketing for Stadium Tours</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The problem: </strong> 30-40% of initial traffic is automated. Real fans lose; artists trend for the wrong reasons.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The Zen model:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenTickets </strong> mints claim-checks that only settle to a wallet after human verification.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Verified resale is allowed <strong>within rules you set:</strong> price caps, time windows, royalties on secondary sales back to the artist or foundation.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenID</strong> turns attendance into loyalty: own a city’s tour badge? Unlock early windowing next year, or guaranteed queue position. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenPays </strong> clears everything in local currency while reconciling in stablecoins to the artist’s treasury if desired.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Bots can’t fake persistent identity or past attendance. You harvest a direct CRM of real attendees and sweep scalper rent back into the economics of the tour (or the charity of your choosing).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Illustration: </strong>A 12-city South Asia tour launches with dynamic pricing inside a floor-to-ceiling band. Secondary trades pay a 10% creator royalty and are disabled in the last 48 hours to stop “ghost hoarding.” Net: higher take per seat, fewer angry threads, more loyal fans.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">3) Direct-to-Superfan Music Drops</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The problem: </strong>An artist with 25k monthly listeners can go a year and barely crack four figures from streaming.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The Zen model:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;Release a <strong>limited digital drop:</strong> the track, stems, lyric notebook scans, and a 30-minute studio AMA through ZenTokenize with time-boxed scarcity.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>ZenPays </strong> processes fiat globally;<strong>ZenID</strong> tracks buyer cohorts for personalized follow-ups</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;Royalty splits across collaborators are <strong>pre-programmed;</strong> every sale/stream triggers instant distribution.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> 500 superfans at $20 beats a million casual streams; and those superfans become your marketing engine because the perks give them proximity, not speculation.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Illustration: </strong>A Punjabi hip-hop duo sells 800 passes at ₹1,299 each with tiered perks (soundcheck access in Delhi and Toronto, merch with a scannable chip that unlocks a private track). A week later the duo drops a remix pack only to prior buyers. Revenue that used to arrive “someday” now shows up in days; and the duo keeps the data.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">4) Phygital Merch That Means Something</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The problem: </strong>Limited drops spike resale markets, but the creator captures none of that aftermarket energy; and buyers get nothing beyond flex value.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The Zen model: </strong>Embed <strong>scannable chips</strong> in apparel/props that unlock digital extras: alt mixes, scene cut-downs, cast commentary, or early access to the next season. Ownership is provable; access rights travel with the item; no wallet setup drama for the fan.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Illustration: </strong>A K-pop partner sells 25k jackets worldwide. Each scan unlocks a rotating content pack and a tour presale code. Secondary resale kicks 5% back to the label/artist pool. Fans get utility; creators get recurring value; everyone gets less fraud.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">5) OTT Micro-Bundles and Eventized Windows</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The problem: </strong>The “all-you-can-eat” model commoditizes content and divorces price from passion.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The Zen model: </strong>Use <strong>ZenPays + ZenID</strong> to sell <strong>micro-bundles</strong> and <strong>eventized windows:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; ₹199 for a 72-hour “Director’s Cut Weekend” with live Q&A and alt endings </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; ₹399 for a “Festival Fast-Pass” across five new indie titles, with a vote that actually affects marketing push.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;Loyalty points accrue and unlock casting calls, set visits, or title-specific collectibles in <strong>ZenTokenize.</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> You shift from anonymous monthly churn to <strong>episodic passion purchases.</strong> Fans pay more when they get more than a thumbnail and an algorithm.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">6) Royalty Routers & Programmable IP</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The problem: </strong>Money takes quarters to arrive; disputes take years to resolve.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The Zen model: </strong>Register works and splits in <strong>ZenTokenize,</strong> route cash via <strong>smart royalty contracts,</strong> and push payouts on delivery events: stream counts, ad-impressions, ticket scans, OTT viewership milestones. If the rule is “composer gets 5% of net receipts from digital rentals,” the contract is the accountant.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Illustration: </strong>A cross-border documentary with Indian, Emirati, and US producers codifies tax credit timing, OTT tiers, and festival bonuses. When the Dubai festival announces an award, that event triggers a predefined bonus to the crew wallet list. Try arguing with math.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">7) Creator Cash Advances Without IP Handcuffs</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The problem: </strong>Banks don’t know how to underwrite creators; predatory deals are called “opportunities.”</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>The Zen model: </strong> <strong>ZenFinance</strong> analyzes trailing platform revenue, diversity of IP/collaborators, and release cadence to size an advance: typically 6–12 months of run-rate with automatic intercepts from platform payouts (where integrated) for frictionless repayment.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Underwriting focuses on <strong>actual earnings</strong> and catalog resilience. You keep your rights; you get your runway.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Illustration: </strong>A mid-tier EDM producer takes a $120k advance to fund a US/EU club tour and video production. Repayment flows from distributor statements and tour settlement proceeds. The producer keeps masters, audience, and leverage.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Regional Playbooks (Because One Size Doesn’t Fit the Planet)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>India (Bollywood + regional): </strong> Dozens of OTTs and regional distributors mean rights fragmentation. Our rails do <strong>multi-territory allowlists</strong> and <strong>language-tier pricing</strong> out of the box. Diaspora access is a feature, not a problem.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>North America (Hollywood + music): </strong>We plug into legacy unions, guilds, and audit workflows. Royalty routers reduce disputes; compliant fan finance opens new slates without surrendering creative.</p><p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Middle East: </strong>Identity and cultural standards vary by market. Our KYC layers handle religious/age gating while <strong>ZenOTC</strong> moves value cleanly across jurisdictions.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Europe: </strong>Local content quotas and cross-border VAT complexity are handled at the <strong>ZenAtlas</strong> layer. Ticketing perks must play nicely with consumer-rights law; ours do.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Africa & LATAM: </strong> Piracy and payments are realities. We meet fans where they are with telco/on-ramp partners via <strong>ZenPays,</strong> then <strong>reward legitimate access</strong> so it wins on experience, not just ethics.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>East Asia: </strong>Gaming-adjacent IP and high-engagement fandoms are built for <strong>programmable rights.</strong> We design remix licenses that invite creativity while paying originators automatically.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">How It All Fits: From Discovery to Dividend</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">1.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Spark: </strong>Trailer drop, single release, or tour announcement.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">2.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Acquire: </strong>Fans opt-in with email/phone; a wallet is created behind the scenes (no crypto lecture).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">3.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Transact: </strong>They buy a pass, ticket, or bundle in local currency;<strong> ZenPays </strong>clears it;<strong> ZenID </strong>attributes it.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">4.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Engage: </strong>Access gates open: watch parties, AMAs, early tracks, table reads.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">5.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Expand: </strong>New offers target true superfans (identified by on-chain + first-party behavior).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">6.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Settle: </strong>Revenue flows through <strong>ZenTokenize </strong>contracts. Splits hit wallets. No “next quarter.”</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">7.</span>&nbsp;<strong>Recycle: </strong>Data (that you own) trains the next release plan. Fans carry status to the next show, season, or slate. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> This is how <strong>flywheels </strong>are built: by paying people quickly, treating fans like adults, and refusing to outsource your relationship to a black box.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Metrics That Actually Matter</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Direct Revenue Share: </strong> % of topline that lands in creator wallets within T+1 days.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Superfan AOV: </strong> Average order value for the top 5-10% of the audience.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Resale Recapture: </strong> Share of secondary ticket value reclaimed via creator royalties.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Time-to-Payout: </strong> From event/view to settlement. Our view: hours, not weeks.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Fan Carryover: </strong> % of buyers who purchase again within 60–90 days (identity-driven loyalty).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp;<strong>Production Cash Gap: </strong> Weeks of working capital bridged by <strong>ZenFinance</strong> and allied providers vs. traditional collections.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> If your dashboard isn’t moving these, you’re building theater, not a business. </p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">“Isn’t This Just Blockchain Hype?” No, It’s Plumbing</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Fans don’t buy tech; they buy <strong>access, status, and experiences.</strong> Our job is to make the tech invisible:</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Email or one-click logins; wallets spun up quietly in the background.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Local currency in; stablecoins optional under the hood for fast settlement.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Gas fees abstracted away; <strong>no</strong> “go fund a wallet” absurdity.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Upgradeable contracts so your legal team sleeps at night. If they don’t, fire them.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Start with <strong>one</strong> label, <strong>one</strong> promoter, or <strong>one</strong> slate; integrate into what already works instead of trying to boil the ocean.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> When the experience is right, no one asks what database you used. They just come back.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">A 90-Day Builder’s Plan (Pick a Lane and Go)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Weeks 1-2: Scope & Term Sheet</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Choose the first wedge: tour ticketing, OTT micro-bundle, debut drop, or slate pre-sell.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Define the economic logic (splits, tiers, caps, geographies).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Map compliance constraints by market.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>Weeks 3-5: Contract & Checkout</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Encode splits/rights in <strong>ZenTokenize;</strong> wire up <strong>ZenPays</strong> with your PSPs and settlement bank(s).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Set up your loyalty graph in <strong>ZenID</strong> (what behavior earns what unlock).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>Weeks 6-7: Private Alpha</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Quiet release to a 1–5% fan segment.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Test buys, refunds, transfers, access gates, and support scripts.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>Weeks 8-10: Public Launch</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Announce with an <strong>eventized window</strong> (countdown, live room, behind-the-scenes).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Push drop reminders and VIP unlocks to high-intent fans.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Weeks 11-13: Settle & Expand</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Review the funnel: conversion, refund rates, secondary trades.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Set next window: sequel drop, city-two onsale, exclusive doc cut.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Turn on <strong>ZenFinance</strong> and allied partners if the next production needs a bridge.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> This is operations, not vibes.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Frequently Punted Questions (Answered)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Is this replacing labels and studios?</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> No. It’s replacing bad math and bad incentives. Great labels and studios create demand, build careers, and scale franchises. We love great partners; we automate away the rent-seeking.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>Do fans really want “ownership”?</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Fans want <strong>proximity and influence.</strong> Ownership is useful when it grants better access and real participation. We design for that, not speculation.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>What about piracy?</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> You won’t litigate culture into obedience. You <strong>out-compete</strong> it with better, cheaper, faster experiences tied to identity and perks pirates can’t counterfeit. Did no one figure that our?</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <strong>Is this legal?</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> We operate <strong>jurisdiction-first.</strong> Some instruments are revenue-shares, some are debt-like, some are pure access. Our compliance team would rather cancel a launch than run a cute workaround. Or structure a compromise.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">A Word to Hollywood (and Bollywood)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Franchises aren’t built by squeezing line items; they’re built by compounding <strong>fan will.</strong> You already spend millions to rent attention. Spend a fraction of that to <strong>own</strong> the relationship. An opening-weekend ticket is a handshake. Turn it into a contract for the next decade: status that persists, benefits that escalate, rights that travel across seasons and spin-offs.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Your rivals aren’t the other studios; they’re entropy and indifference. The antidote is <strong>mechanized loyalty;</strong> and cash that arrives fast enough to fund <strong>courage.</strong></p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">A Word to Music Labels and Managers</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Flooding DSPs (Digital Service Providers - like Spotify) then praying for playlist luck is a tax on your artist’s self-respect. Lead with <strong>drops to the top 1-10%</strong> of the audience. Price like adults; deliver like professionals. Use streaming as the mass-reach tailwind <strong>after</strong> you’ve captured the high-margin demand. Your A&R (Artists & Repertoire) bets will get bolder when your cash cycle is measured in days, not quarters.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">A Word to OTT Founders and Programmers</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Subscribers don’t churn because content is “bad”; they churn because it’s <strong>interchangeable.</strong> Treat releases like <strong>appointments,</strong> not inventory. Sell micro-windows, grant voting rights that steer real spend, and carry fan status across titles. The bundle isn’t dead; it’s just dumb when it treats a superfan like a passerby.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Why Zen? Because We Refuse to Lie to the P&L</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> I don’t just worship technology; I worship its <strong>outcomes.</strong> Zen’s rails exist because creators deserve to <strong>capture what they create,</strong> partners deserve to <strong>earn what they improve,</strong> and fans deserve to <strong>get what they pay for.</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> No mysticism. No moral debt. No begging bowl.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> You bring the work. We bring the rails. Together, we settle in cash and in kind - <strong>value for value.</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> If you’re a studio head with a slate, a label with a catalog, a promoter with a calendar, or an OTT with a pulse, let’s build the version of your business that your younger self wished existed. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> The one where control and accountability live in the same place:<strong> your hands.</strong></p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt;; color:#0f4761;">~ Aniket Warty</h2> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; margin-top:6pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Proud Father, Zen</h2>

By Aniket Warty

11 September 2025

16 Min Read

Why “Raah Pe Rehte Hain” is my best Hindi song - and a testimony to my philosophy

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <body style="font-family: Calibri; color:#000000;"> <!-- Intro --> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> There are many masterpieces in Hindi film music, but only ONE I’d call <strong>complete -</strong>where words, melody, and voice don’t just coexist, they integrate into a single, inevitable unit. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Gulzar’s “Raah Pe Rehte Hain” (from Namkeen, 1982), composed by R.D. Burman and rendered by Kishore Kumar, is that rare unity. It’s the one song I return to the most, and as an out-and-out Prime Mover, I can state precisely why. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><em>(Credits: Film: Namkeen (1982); Lyrics: Gulzar; Music: R.D. Burman; Singer: Kishore Kumar.)</em> </p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">A song about motion, not moaning</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> At its core, this song is about movement; about choosing a road and staying on it with clear eyes. Even its opening idea (“raah pe rehte hain…”) treats life not as a fog of fate but as a sequence of chosen steps. There’s no self-pity, no plea for rescue. The stance is adult: I exist, I choose motion; therefore, I live (and am happy). That is deeply causalistic. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin-top:6pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Purpose is not a background feeling, it’s the engine. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Gulzar’s writing respects reality. His metaphors don’t demand mystical belief; they illuminate facts. When the lyric speaks of heat and shade, it recognizes that effort has consequences - sometimes harsh - and that character is forged in contact with the real, not in escape from it. It’s resilient without being martyrish, tender without demanding sacrifice. </p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Words that honor agency</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> A prime mover holds that man is a being of self-made soul. This lyric treats the self as an active doer: the traveler who builds meaning out of memory, experience, and choice. Even when it glances at loneliness, it doesn’t sentimentalize it. It understands that independence often looks like solitude from the outside; and accepts that cost with dignity. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Gulzar’s economy is crucial here. He never over-explains. The line-images are spare, exact, and concrete; thus leaving room for my mind to complete the picture. That respect for the listener’s rational faculty is part of why I love him: he invites cognition; he doesn’t short-circuit it. </p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pancham’s tune: economy as power</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> R.D. Burman’s composition is deceptively simple. No sugary crescendos to manipulate emotion; no ornamental detours to show off cleverness. The melody walks, like a man on a road with something to do. The rhythm keeps time like footsteps. The harmony gives the words space to breathe. Everything serves the idea. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> This is art with discipline. In my terms, Burman’s choices are a moral statement: he refuses to blur the lyric with musical fog. He chooses clarity over clutter: <strong>form serving content</strong>, not the other way around. </p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Kishore’s voice: earned ease, not pleading </h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Kishore Kumar sings this the way a creator would speak: relaxed, centered, assured. There’s warmth but no whine, sweetness but no syrup. He doesn’t emote at me; he shares an attitude with me. That matters. A prime-mover celebrates self-esteem; the resolute conviction that one is worthy of happiness. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Kishore’s timbre carries that self-esteem naturally; his phrasing suggests someone who has looked at the world, at its terms, and chosen to keep going on his own terms with a quiet smile. </p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Lingering on the last stanza</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> That closing line: “<strong>hum thehar jaaye jaha, usko shahar karte hai</strong>” (“wherever I halt, I turn it into a city”), is sort of my credo in eight words. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> It isn’t a romantic sigh; it’s a builder’s promise. It says: I don’t beg for a ready-made world. I arrive, assess reality, and <strong>make</strong> one: brick by brick, system by system, value by value. The dust of “nowhere” becomes streets, contracts, and purpose because I bring a mind that refuses to drift. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> I love this line most because I have lived it, through my teens and my adult years, <strong>always from scratch, back to the wall,</strong> converting scarcity into structure. Every time I’ve chosen to stay and build, it has been on the <strong>trader principle:</strong> value for value, no favors asked, no looting offered. If a place had nothing but a patch of ground and a hard problem, that was enough. I would measure, plan, produce; and leave behind a “city”: projects that function, rails that move money, products that work, standards that last. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Let me structure the values that animate this line: </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Reason: </strong> I start with facts: what exists, what’s possible, what constraints bind; and I think. I integrate; I execute. No mysticism, no luck.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Purpose: </strong> I choose a central aim and organize the chaos around it. A halt becomes a foundation, not a cul-de-sac.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Self-esteem: </strong> I hold my head high because I know I’m the cause of my success. I don’t apologize for ambition; I operationalize it. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> “Hum thehar jaaye jaha…” is also a stance on <strong>time.</strong> A pause isn’t surrender; it’s staging. I stop only to gather resources, align people, and set direction; then I turn momentum into masonry. This is why I never give up: quitting would negate everything I’ve already transformed. The road behind me is proof that the next barren stop can become another city.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> So when Kishore’s voice lands on that line, I hear more than poetry. I hear my operating manual. It validates the way I have worked and the way I will continue to work: always with clear focus, <strong>with my head held high, and with an uncompromising commitment to value for value.</strong> I don’t wait for a city. I build one.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Integration: the highest aesthetic virtue</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> I call it a complete song because nothing is accidental. The lyric articulates a philosophy of motion and memory. The tune structures that philosophy into time. The voice personalizes it into lived experience. <strong>Word → tune → voice</strong> line up like gears: no contradiction, no slack. That unity is what I ask of art: a clear sense of life, expressed with skill/craft, delivered with conviction.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Most songs excel in one dimension and carry the others along. This one achieves <strong>integration.</strong> As a producer, I’m moved not by vagueness but by the sight (and sound) of a mind selecting essentials and shaping them into something inevitable. “Raah Pe Rehte Hain” does exactly that.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Why it sits at the top for me</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>It’s rational: </strong> a lucid view of life as chosen motion, not a fog of helplessness.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>It’s purposeful: </strong> every musical and verbal decision advances the central idea.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>It’s self-respecting: </strong> the performance stands upright; no begging, no bartering for sympathy.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>It’s benevolent: </strong> even in acknowledging heat and fatigue, it affirms that the road is worth walking.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> In a canon crowded with hymns to self-sacrifice or sentimental resignation, this song chooses something else: the <em>dignity of going on</em>. That’s why, for me, it rises above nostalgia and becomes philosophy set to melody.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">The film context (and why it enriches the song)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Placed within <em>Namkeen</em> - a Gulzar film that treats people as complex adults - the song inherits a narrative integrity. The film’s world is not a fairy-tale; it’s textured, imperfect, human. The music respects that world. It’s an art-truth I admire: show life as it is, without sneer or sanctimony, and then let the individual choose.</p> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">What I carry away every time</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Every replay is a reset: shoulders drop, spine straighten, focus returns. The song reminds me that my past is capital, my present is action, and my future is the road I choose next. That is why I love it most: because it doesn’t just sound good; it <strong>re-aligns me with my first principles:</strong> reason, purpose, self-esteem.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> If you want to understand my philosophy in four minutes of Hindi music, this is it: <strong>a complete song.</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <em>References for credits and release context: Namkeen</em> (1982) soundtrack and attributions to Gulzar, R.D. Burman, and Kishore Kumar; album listings and track credits corroborate the pairing.</p>

By Aniket Warty

10 September 2025

6 Min Read

Atlas Rail & Zen: How I Intend to Build the Rails of Global Finance

<!-- Intro --> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Money should move at the speed of reason. If a good is delivered now, payment should settle now. If capital is idle, it should earn now. That is not utopia; it’s engineering. The world is finally catching up: programmable money has crossed from experiment to infrastructure, and the institutions that matter are quietly rebuilding their plumbing around it. Stablecoins have proven that a digital dollar with instant finality and software-level control isn’t a curiosity; it’s the default for a rational financial system. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> Atlas Rail and the broader Zen ecosystem exist to make that default inescapable. My aim is not to “participate” in a new market. My aim is to supply the rails: the trust layer, the liquidity layer, the compliance layer, and the product layer that let individuals, enterprises, and governments move value across borders and time zones without begging permission from obsolete intermediaries. The philosophy is straightforward: <strong>value for value,</strong> with incentives aligned to production, not to parasitism. What follows is an objective plan: principles, steps, partnerships, and metrics to maximize our global presence and make Atlas Rail indispensable for the decades ahead. </p> <!-- First Principles --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">First Principles (My Operating Philosophy)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">1.</span>&nbsp; <strong>Trust is earned, not asserted.</strong> Proof beats promises. We will show reserves, uptime, and settlement performance in real time.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">2.</span>&nbsp; <strong>Compliance is a feature, not a tax.</strong> Automated KYC/KYB/AML, embedded at the protocol edge, is how we scale globally without apologies.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">3.</span>&nbsp; <strong>Liquidity is the product.</strong> Rails mean nothing without deep, reliable, 24/7 liquidity and predictable yields.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">4.</span>&nbsp; <strong>Interoperability beats isolation.</strong> Private, permissioned functions for sensitive flows; seamless contact with public liquidity when needed.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">5.</span>&nbsp; <strong>Profit is moral.</strong> Every corridor, integration, and partnership must create measurable value for us and our counterparties—or we don’t do it.</p> <!-- Objective --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">The Objective: Become the Default Rail</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">“Global presence” isn’t a marketing map with pins. It’s corridor depth, counterparty confidence, and superior unit economics. The objective is to make Atlas Rail the rational choice for three constituencies:</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Enterprises</strong> that want instant settlement, lower working capital needs, and automated treasury.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Merchants and platforms</strong> that want cheaper acceptance, instant payouts, and programmable loyalty.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Institutions and family offices</strong> that want compliant yield, treasury tools, and cross-border command.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">To achieve this, I’m building six reinforcing pillars.</p> <!-- Pillar 1 --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pillar 1: The Trust Architecture</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>What it is:</strong> A verifiable, always-on backbone: reserves, risk controls, and deterministic settlement.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Actions:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Proof-of-Reserves &amp; Liabilities (hourly).</strong> Publish cryptographically verifiable dashboards, reconciled to custodian statements and on-chain balances. Any counterparty should be able to self-verify our solvency without asking us first.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Deterministic SLAs.</strong> Settlement finality targets in seconds, uptime above 99.99%, incident disclosure within minutes. Contractual credits when we miss.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Multi-custody &amp; key isolation.</strong> Geographic and institutional redundancy; MPC key management; continuous disaster-recovery drills with signed attestations.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Counterparty Tiering.</strong> Risk-weighted limits by jurisdiction and entity, auto-adjusted by behavioral scoring and network conditions.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Trust compounds. The more predictable our rails, the lower everyone’s capital buffers need to be; and the more volume gravitates to us.</p> <!-- Pillar 2 --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pillar 2: Compliance-by-Design (Speed as a Moat)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>What it is:</strong> An embedded policy engine that turns compliance from a bottleneck into invisible infrastructure.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Actions:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Policy Engine at the Edge.</strong> KYC/KYB, sanctions, velocity controls, and risk scoring applied before a transaction hits core rails, sub-200ms decisions.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Jurisdictional Playbooks.</strong> Mapped obligations for UAE, EU, UK, U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong, India, KSA, and key African corridors - each codified as machine-readable rules.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Regulator Portals.</strong> Read-only dashboards for auditors and supervisors with programmatic access to the exact trails they need, nothing more.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Travel Rule &amp; Data Minimization.</strong> Cross-VASPs information exchange where required; privacy by default elsewhere.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Most competitors treat compliance as external. I internalize it and sell it as a feature. That wins licenses, bank accounts, and partners others can’t keep.</p> <!-- Pillar 3 --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pillar 3: Liquidity &amp; Yield (The Magnet)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>What it is:</strong> Treat every idle balance as productive capital; make it simple, transparent, and conservative.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Actions:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Treasury-as-a-Service.</strong> For corporates and institutions: automated sweeps into tokenized money-market instruments or other short-duration, high-grade assets, with T+0 liquidity and clear risk envelopes.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Programmable Working Capital.</strong> Supplier payments auto-settle on delivery-confirm events; early-payment discounts are calculated on-chain; settlement happens in seconds, not weeks.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Stablecoin Float Optimization.</strong> For marketplaces and wallets: instant, opt-in yield on settlement balances with principal-first redemption logic.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Corridor Liquidity Pools.</strong> Two-sided pools seeded in both currencies of a corridor, rebalanced by quantitative rules (volatility bands, inventory ceilings, and cost-of-carry triggers).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Capital follows incentives. Reliable, boring yield paired with instant liquidity pulls balances onto our rails and keeps them there.</p> <!-- Pillar 4 --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pillar 4: Merchant &amp; Consumer Acceptance (Frictionless Spend)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>What it is:</strong> Let people pay anywhere, in stable value, without the off-ramp gymnastics.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Actions:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Stable-Value Cards.</strong> White-label Visa/Mastercard programs backed by on-chain collateral, with daily automated net settlement to acquirers.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Direct Merchant Acceptance.</strong> Plugins for major commerce stacks and PSPs; pricing that undercuts card fees by design; instant availability of funds.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Programmable Rewards.</strong> Cashback in stable value, earned and settled in real time; loyalty points as spendable micro-balances rather than vanity numbers.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Payouts Hub.</strong> Mass disbursements to creators, drivers, and freelancers in seconds with optional instant cash-out to bank or mobile money.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it matters:</strong> If you can earn, hold, spend, and earn again without leaving our ecosystem, churn collapses and volumes snowball.</p> <!-- Pillar 5 --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pillar 5: Corridors &amp; Partnerships (The Network)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>What it is:</strong> Depth first, then breadth. We prioritize routes where our rails decisively outperform legacy flows.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Priority corridors (anchor to spoke):</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>UAE → (KSA, India, Nigeria, UK, EU).</strong> UAE is our command center: clear rules, friendly to stable-value settlement, and a natural east-west hub.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Singapore/Hong Kong → ASEAN &amp; India.</strong> Trade finance and payroll flows; regulatory sophistication; high corporate adoption.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>U.S. ↔ LatAm.</strong> Remittance and marketplace payouts; demand for dollar savings; strong fintech adoption.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>EU ↔ MENA/Africa.</strong> Invoice finance and supply-chain settlements; Euro ↔ USD stable-value routes.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Partnership categories:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Issuance &amp; Custody.</strong> Regulated issuers, qualified custodians, and trustees across the U.S., EU, and UAE for reserve segregation and bankruptcy-remote structures.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Acquirers &amp; PSPs.</strong> Co-branded stable-value acceptance with settlement rails that bypass legacy friction while remaining compatible with it.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Banks.</strong> FBO accounts, same-day off-ramps, and tokenized deposit pilots for high-value clients.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Identity &amp; Risk.</strong> Tier-1 eKYC, device intelligence, and behavioral fraud vendors integrated into our policy engine.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Oracles &amp; Data.</strong> Logistics, IoT, and trade-doc signals that trigger programmable finance (delivery scanned → invoice settles).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Public Infrastructure.</strong> Payment networks and wallet frameworks where our rails can be the hidden engine.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Network effects are earned corridor by corridor. We start where our delta in speed, cost, and reliability is undeniable; and expand from strength.</p> <!-- Pillar 6 --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Pillar 6: The Atlas Stack (Technology That Disappears)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>What it is:</strong> A modular, enterprise-grade stack that offers privacy where necessary and public liquidity where beneficial.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Stack choices and commitments:</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Permissioned L1s for Enterprises.</strong> Dedicated, EVM-compatible networks with custom limits, pricing, privacy, and embedded KYC/KYB. These handle payroll, supplier payments, and internal transfers with sub-second finality and negligible fees.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Native Interop with Public Liquidity.</strong> Atomic movement between private rails and public stable-value markets without relying on fragile bridges or wrapped tokens.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Tooling Familiarity.</strong> Solidity/EVM so developers can reuse battle-tested patterns, libraries, and monitoring, no exotic science experiments.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Observability.</strong> Full-stack telemetry: throughput, latency, error budgets, and policy-engine decisions exposed through partner consoles and APIs.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>Why it matters:</strong> The best tech is invisible. Enterprises get privacy and control; consumers and merchants get the liquidity and utility of open networks.</p> <!-- Case Studies --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Case Studies (Illustrative, Based on Real Patterns)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#0f4761;"><strong>1) The Neobank That Tamed Inflation</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">A Latin American neobank faced a simple reality: customers earned in local currency but saved in dollars. The bank embedded yield on digital-dollar balances directly in its app, no new logins, no jargon. Users could move funds in instantly, earn a conservative annual return, and redeem same-day. Within months, deposits climbed, yields paid out seamlessly, and the bank’s cost of capital fell.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><em><strong>What we’d do with Atlas Rail:</strong></em> duplicate this model in at least three markets (LatAm, MENA, Southeast Asia), exposing an API that lets partners offer “earn + settle + spend” in one flow. <strong>KPIs:</strong> balances onboarded, redemption latency, net yield after costs, fraud incidence &lt; 5 bps.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#0f4761;"><strong>2) The Card That Made Digital Dollars Spendable</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">A large consumer app launched a stable-value card for its users. Instead of forcing off-ramps before every purchase, collateral was managed on-chain, while merchants continued to receive local currency at familiar terminals. Settlement netted daily, seven days a week. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Result: millions of transactions across 100+ countries, with users spending earnings directly and merchants seeing funds immediately.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><em><strong>What we’d do with Atlas Rail:</strong></em> replicate for marketplaces and creator platforms: in-app issuance, spend controls, real-time rewards, and a per-transaction cost curve that undercuts traditional rails.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#0f4761;"><strong>3) The Ecosystem That Minted Its Own Unit of Account</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">A web-scale platform running multiple apps and marketplaces struggled with fragmented payments and third-party frictions. It introduced a fully reserved, dollar-denominated unit of account across its ecosystem: one currency for in-app spend, payouts, and treasury. Because the reserves were short-duration and transparent, users trusted it. Because yield shared with the platform covered costs, the business model improved.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><em><strong>What we’d do with Atlas Rail:</strong></em> support brand-specific units inside large networks (retailers, gaming, mobility), with 1:1 convertibility into public stable-value and instant redemption. The win is control of settlement plus a share of the float, without compromising user choice.</p> <!-- Zen Ecosystem on Atlas Rail --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">The Zen Ecosystem on Atlas Rail (How It Clicks)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenPays: (merchant acquiring):</strong> accept our stable instrument natively, route by price/latency, settle T+0 to merchant wallets, and offer instant settlement discounts. Merchant acceptance and payout rails with sub-second settlement, programmable loyalty, and fees designed to win. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenOTC: (liquidity):</strong> be the corridor maker for our instrument vs. USDC/USDT/EURC; guarantee tight spreads and deep books; monetize order-flow and basis. Institutional liquidity, RFQs, block trades, and corridor market-making with transparent inventory and pre-trade risk. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenTrading:</strong> Structured yield and hedging tools for institutions, informed by corridor data and treasury exposures. <strong>(MM &amp; treasury tooling):</strong> automated rebalancing between chains, corridors, and vaults; volatility-aware cash management. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenFinance:</strong> (treasury): rule-based sweeps, vault allocations, and cross-subsidiary lending; treasury becomes a revenue line. Tokenized treasuries, short-duration debt, and conservative, liquid yield programs with audit-ready reporting. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenTokenize:</strong> Trade finance and receivable tokenization: turn invoices and purchase orders into programmable, financeable assets. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenWallet:</strong> A single interface for earn, spend, send, and settle: consumer-grade UX; institutional-grade controls. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>ZenX AI (risk/compliance):</strong> real-time transaction scoring (&lt;200ms), sanctions screening, geo-policy routing, anomaly detection, and SAR drafting. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Atlas Rail:</strong> The substrate under everything: identity, policy, settlement, telemetry, and interoperability. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">The user sees a clean app. The enterprise sees APIs and dashboards. The regulator sees real-time program compliance. Under the hood, it’s one machine. </p> <!-- Execution Roadmap --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Execution Roadmap (Do the Work, In Order)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>0–90 Days: Prove It</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Go live with two anchor corridors (UAE ↔ India; UAE ↔ EU).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Launch merchant acceptance v1 (plugins + stable-value payouts) and payouts hub v1 (mass disbursements with instant cash-out).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Ship Proof-of-Reserves v1 (hourly) and policy engine v1 (sub-200ms).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Secure three regulated custody venues across at least two continents.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">KPIs: success-rate &gt; 99.9%, median settlement &lt; 5s, payout fee &lt; 30 bps, first $50M balances earning conservative yield.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>90–180 Days: Make It Useful</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Stand up Treasury-as-a-Service for corporates; automate sweeps and redemptions.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Pilot stable-value card with one marketplace and one creator platform.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Tokenize trade receivables with a tier-1 supplier; tie settlement to logistics events.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Expand to two more corridors (U.S. ↔ LatAm; EU ↔ MENA).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">KPIs: $250M monthly GPV on Atlas Rail; 70% of payouts same-minute; card approval-to-first-spend &lt; 24h; delinquency &lt; 1%.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>6–12 Months: Build Moats</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Deploy permissioned enterprise L1s for two global clients; integrate ERP/TMS for automated cross-subsidiary settlement.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Roll out programmable working capital (dynamic discounts, on-delivery settlement) for a top-50 importer/exporter.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Add regulator portals in at least three jurisdictions; complete first multi-agency audit with zero critical findings.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">KPIs: $1B+ monthly GPV; $500M average yield-eligible balances; corridor spreads compressing due to volume (our cost curve wins).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><strong>12–24 Months: Be the Default</strong></p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Become default rails for at least one national-level program (merchant acceptance or remittance modernization).</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Enable brand-specific units of account for a platform with 10M+ MAUs, with instant 1:1 convertibility to public stable-value.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0 0 0px 40px; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; Offer white-label Atlas to banks and PSPs; our policy engine and settlement fabric power their branded experiences.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">KPIs: 10+ corridors at scale; 5+ enterprise L1s in production; 2–3x YoY revenue growth with expanding gross margin.</p> <!-- Metrics --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Metrics That Matter (So We Never Lie to Ourselves)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Reliability:</strong> success-rate, uptime, and incident MTTR. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Speed:</strong> p50/p95 end-to-end settlement times (not just chain finality). </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Cost:</strong> effective basis-points per transaction vs legacy alternatives. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Capital Efficiency:</strong> days-payable and days-receivable reductions, inventory turns, and average idle cash yield. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Compliance Health:</strong> false-positive/negative rates, case load per million transactions, and regulator feedback cycle time. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Trust:</strong> proof-of-reserves verification frequency, counterparty concentration, and custodian diversification. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Network Effects:</strong> corridor depth (two-sided liquidity), partner retention, developer adoption, and cross-product stickiness. </p> <!-- Collaborations --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Potential Collaborations (To Accelerate the Flywheel)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Central &amp; Commercial Banks:</strong> tokenized deposit pilots, stable-value settlement for corporate clients, and direct off-ramp lines. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Payment Networks &amp; PSPs:</strong> co-branded acceptance and settlement that reduce merchant fees while preserving existing terminals. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Global Retailers &amp; Marketplaces:</strong> instant settlements, programmable loyalty in stable value, and cross-border payouts. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Logistics &amp; IoT Providers:</strong> real-world event oracles to trigger programmatic finance (warehouse scans, GPS delivery, quality checks). </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Enterprise Software Vendors:</strong> ERP/TMS integrations so finance teams manage cash across subsidiaries in real time. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Identity &amp; Fraud Vendors:</strong> advanced device intelligence and behavioral analytics amplified by our policy engine. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>RWA &amp; Treasury Platforms:</strong> conservative, liquid yield with transparent governance and audit-ready reports. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Every partnership must pass a simple test: Does this reduce friction, lower cost, increase certainty, or expand yield for our users? If not, we pass.</p> <!-- Risks --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Risks I Refuse to Ignore (And How I Mitigate Them)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Regulatory Drift:</strong> Regulations change. Our policy engine is rules-driven; new obligations are code updates, not departmental chaos. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Custodian Concentration:</strong> We will never be dependent on a single custodian or a single geography. Always two or more, always failover tested. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Bridge/Interop Risk:</strong> No blind reliance on wrapped assets; we prefer native interop or direct redemption/issuance paths. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Liquidity Shocks:</strong> Pre-committed lines, circuit-breakers on outflow spikes, and inventory buffers sized by corridor volatility. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;"> <span style="font-family:Symbol; font-size:12pt; color:#000000;">•</span>&nbsp; <strong>Key Management &amp; Ops:</strong> MPC, HSM, and rigorous operational segregation; two-man rules; continuous simulation of worst-case scenarios. </p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Risk is not an excuse to stall; it’s a design variable. We engineer it away, we price it honestly, or we don’t touch the flow.</p> <!-- Close --> <h2 style="font-size:18pt; font-weight:bold; margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:6pt; color:#0f4761;">Why This Will Work (The Close)</h2> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">I do not build to flatter failing systems. I build for the producer who refuses to fund inefficiency with his time or his capital. The merchant who wants settlement now, not next week. The CFO who refuses to borrow working capital because a bank transfer needs a holiday. The worker who wants to send money home without lighting it on fire. The family office that demands yield with clarity, not jargon.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Atlas Rail and Zen are my answer to a simple moral question: <strong>Should productive people be chained to legacy friction?</strong> My answer is no. So I’m replacing the chains with rails; measurably faster, visibly safer, provably cheaper, and relentlessly fair. I will integrate where it serves us, compete where it doesn’t, and walk away where the premise is irrational. I will partner with institutions that respect reality and deliver value for value. And I will keep score in the only currency that matters: results.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">This decade will not be remembered for press releases about “innovation.” It will be remembered for the quiet, enduring shift to rails that <strong>just work.</strong> When settlement is instant, compliance is embedded, yield is sensible, and borders are abstractions, commerce expands and human effort compounds. That is the world I’m building toward: one corridor, one partnership, one proof-point at a time.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">Money should move at the speed of reason.</p> <p style="font-size:12pt; margin:0; text-align:justify; color:#000000;">With Atlas Rail and Zen, it will.</p>

By Aniket Warty

31 August 2025

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