Blockchain-Powered Platform BAXUS Launches With Plans to Solve ‘Disconnected’ Wine and Spirits Trading Space
(Image: BAXUS)
On Monday, BAXUS, a secure marketplace for buying, trading and preserving valuable wines and spirits, announced its official launch.
BAXUS, which has already traded over $20 million in whiskey, was founded by whiskey investor and trader Todd Wiesel.
BAXUS claims it holds some of the rarest bottles in the world, including a 55-year-old Yamazaki Japanese whisky, an incredibly rare and valuable bottle. Only 55 bottles of Yamazaki 55 were made, and the they have been known to sell for north of half a million dollars. Other rare BAXUS bottles include dozens of pre-Prohibition bourbons and complete sets of Lenell’s Red Hook Rye, which has been referred to as America’s most sought-after whiskey.
Wiesel explained in a news release that the name BAXUS is a “tech-friendly” take on Bacchus, aka Dionysus, the Roman God of wine and spirits.
“At BAXUS, giving wines and spirits collectors and investors a place to participate in the market, when they otherwise wouldn’t have because of opaque pricing conditions, infrequent auctions, high fees, complicated legal framework around alcoholic beverages, and many other reasons,” Wiesel said. “BAXUS is solving these problems via a trusted third-party responsible for custody and authentication, allowing institutions and individuals to digitally transact around the globe.”
The company claims it holds the most advanced pricing date and offers users free access to “hundreds of data points” before they buy or sell. BAXUS also said in the news release that it plans to grow its technology team with a focus on machine learning and computer vision to expedite itspricing data collection and data sales operations.
The company also plans to open an events space, where it intends to work with brands, allowing them to host private tastings with VIP members.
BAXUS was co-founded by Carrie Kellar, who is the company’s CTO. Kellar and Wiesel met at Columbia Universit when Kellar was giving a lecture about databases. Prior to starting BAXUS, Kellar worked a three-month stint for the New York Times’ machine learning platform team.
Finian Sedgwick, the vice president of sales and marketing at BAXUS, worked for 11 years at French liquor conglomerate Pernod Ricard, which owns such brands as Jameson, Malibu, Absolut, Ballantine’s, Chivas Brothers, The Glenlivet, Aberlour, Del Maguey, Redbreast, Rabbit Hole and many others.
Sedgwick said his time at Pernod taught him how “disconnected and challenging” the global wine and spirits market can be, which inspired him to help build a transparent, consumer-driven community.
“Historically, bottle choices on the shelf have been shaped by the supply side of the industry vs. the demand side with limited to no two-way conversation between brands and consumers,” Sedgwick said. “Today, we’re democratizing information, pricing data, and history on rare and limited wines and spirits, and making every decision for the platform based on what our consumer wants. Through access and education, we’re building an industry leading platform and marketplace for wine and spirits enthusiasts.”
BAXUS and Harnessing the Power of Blockchain
BAXUS says it’s using blockchain technology to give proof of ownership, authentification and a safe storage solution, “ensuring complete peace of mind for every transaction.”
“Todd and I recognized that the only way to ‘fix’ this market was through tokenizing these assets exclusively on the blockchain,” Kellar said. “At BAXUS, we’re using the blockchain for its original intent: ensuring complete transparency, authentication, ownership and provenance.”
In June 2022, Kentucky bourbon shop Justins’ House of Bourbon announced a whiskey authentification trading program alongside BAXUS.
Follow The Daily Pour:
