AppYea Taps Tech Architect as CTO in High-Stakes Blockchain Pivot

JERUSALEM – January 12, 2026 – In a move signaling a profound strategic pivot, AppYea, Inc. (OTCQB: APYP) today announced the appointment of Ben Harris as its new Chief Technology Officer and member of its Board of Directors. The appointment is a direct follow-through on the company's recent acquisition of a blockchain platform from Techlott, a technology Harris himself was the primary architect of. This decision firmly places the creator of the company's core intellectual property at the helm of its technical execution, marking a critical phase in AppYea's transformation into a provider of trust infrastructure for highly regulated global markets.

A Calculated Pivot to Institutional-Grade Blockchain

This appointment solidifies a strategic shift that has been underway for months. AppYea, once focused on digital health and sleep-monitoring wearables, has decisively pivoted toward the burgeoning field of enterprise blockchain. The cornerstone of this new direction was the acquisition of Techlott Ltd.'s proprietary technology stack, a deal finalized on December 31, 2025. The transaction saw AppYea issue restricted common stock valued at approximately €31.3 million, giving Techlott's former stakeholders a 35% fully diluted stake in the company.

The acquired platform is not a generic blockchain solution but a specialized, audit-ready infrastructure designed for environments where transparency and verifiable outcomes are non-negotiable. Engineered for regulated lottery and gaming, the system boasts features like real-time, tamper-evident on-chain receipts, verifiable randomness functions (VRF) for probability-based systems, and end-to-end audit trails built for regulatory oversight. Having already processed over 212,000 test transactions and passed an independent security review with no high-severity issues, the technology provides a robust foundation for AppYea's ambitions.

"The closing we announced on January 8 was an important step in our transformation," said Yakir Abadi, Chief Executive Officer of AppYea. "Ben brings direct technical ownership and delivery discipline. He is joining at the point where execution matters most—turning core IP into an institutional-grade product line with clear milestones, measurable reliability, and audit-ready outputs."

The Architect Takes Control of Execution

By appointing Ben Harris, AppYea is ensuring that the deep, intrinsic knowledge of the platform's architecture resides within its executive leadership and board. Harris's background as a veteran in the gaming and finance sectors, combined with his role as the chief architect at Techlott, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the next phase of development. His mandate is clear: move from integration to commercialization.

As CTO, Harris's priorities are squarely focused on making the platform ready for enterprise and institutional deployment. His agenda includes hardening the platform to enhance reliability and scalability, reinforcing security-by-design principles throughout the development lifecycle, and improving APIs for seamless partner integration. A key focus will be on refining the audit-ready transparency workflows to produce verifiable outputs that satisfy the stringent demands of regulators and other stakeholders. This disciplined approach is intended to establish a consistent delivery rhythm tied directly to commercialization milestones.

"My focus is execution—productizing the platform for scalable deployments in environments where trust must be demonstrable," Harris stated. "We will prioritize performance, integrity, and operational readiness, with an emphasis on integration pathways and audit-grade transparency."

The Long Road to Nasdaq and Institutional Trust

Beyond the technological roadmap, Harris's dual role as a board member is a crucial component of AppYea's broader capital markets strategy. The company has been vocal about its preparations for a potential uplisting to a U.S. national securities exchange, explicitly mentioning Nasdaq. This ambition, part of a larger strategic overhaul that includes a planned rebranding to Mellatrix Inc., faces significant hurdles.

Currently trading on the OTCQB market at approximately $0.016 per share, AppYea is far from meeting Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement, which typically stands at $4.00. Furthermore, uplisting requires meeting rigorous financial standards related to cash flow, earnings, and shareholder equity, as well as maintaining a minimum number of public shareholders. The company's recent financial filings, indicating a current ratio below 1.0, suggest that strengthening its balance sheet will be a critical prerequisite.

AppYea's leadership is framing Harris's board appointment as a strategic move to bolster the corporate governance and operational rigor expected by institutional investors. By aligning top-level technology delivery directly with board oversight, the company aims to build the credibility necessary for both a successful uplisting and long-term investor confidence.

"Our Board remains focused on institutional readiness and governance," commented Eldar Grady, Chairman of the Board. "Ben's appointment to the Board strengthens alignment between technology delivery and oversight, which we believe is important as we continue executing our strategic roadmap and evaluating potential capital markets initiatives."

Beyond Speculation: Blockchain for High-Stakes Markets

AppYea's strategy reflects a broader maturation of blockchain technology, moving away from speculative cryptocurrencies and toward practical applications where trust and immutability provide tangible value. The initial target is the global institutional lottery market, an industry projected to reach $483.93 billion by 2030, where regulators are increasingly seeking transparent and verifiable systems to replace opaque legacy infrastructure.

However, the company's vision extends to all "regulated, outcome-driven markets." The goal is to productize its technology into repeatable deployments for enterprise, institutional, and public-sector clients. The same principles of verifiable outcomes and audit-ready transparency could be applied to a wide range of industries. Potential use cases include ensuring compliance in financial services, guaranteeing provenance and safety in pharmaceutical and food supply chains, and securing the integrity of government records like land registries and digital licenses.

The success of AppYea's ambitious pivot will ultimately hinge on its ability to execute this vision. With the original architect of its core technology now in a position to drive both product development and corporate strategy, the company has clearly defined its path forward in the competitive landscape of enterprise blockchain.