Global trading platform Structure, which aims to facilitate crypto-based lending and investing for mobile users, just raised $20 million from investors and from a private sale of its digital currency $STXR. The company will offer decentralized finance (DeFi) crypto-denominated lending outside of traditional banking, as well as investing in tokenized assets, digital versions of assets such as stocks and real estate. Of course, Structure isn’t the only company looking to gain a stake in the nascent but fast-growing crypto lending space. While retail investors don’t have access to private token sales, there are other opportunities to gain access to the crypto market. Companies like Wellfield Technologies (TSXV:WFLD), Voyager Digital (TSX:VOYG) (OTC:VYGVF), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (CSE:BIGG) (OTCQX:BBKCF), and DeFi Technologies Inc. (NEO:DEFI) (OTC:DEFTF) are all looking to broaden their stake in the market through innovative projects, strategic investments, and partnering to create integrations.
Newly listed DeFi R&D company Wellfield Technologies (TSXV:WFLD) has developed a mainstream financial application called MoneyClip that is powered by DeFi, similar to Structure, in Canada. Wellfield is also developing unique smart contracts and protocols on Bitcoin and Ethereum, giving apps like MoneyClip and Structure the technology needed to completely bypass cryptocurrency exchanges and disrupt banking and finance.
Through their Seamless brand, Wellfield is launching a fully decentralized cross blockchain protocol that enables users to trade any cryptocurrency on any blockchain without using accounts held with crypto exchanges. Wellfield began trading on the Toronto Venture Exchange on November 30 after completing a business combination with Seamless Logic Software Limited and MoneyClip Inc.
At the same time, Wellfield closed a concurrent financing for gross proceeds of over C$20 million, which the company intends to use to fund the launch of their smart contracts and decentralized products on the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains.
After joining the public markets, Wellfield’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MoneyClip launched an intensive engagement program focused on growing its user base and signing retail partners as it prepares for the introduction of additional functionality through 2022. The company has now concluded its initial period of rigorous testing in partnership with early users of the app and will be launching an upgraded user interface and new connectivity features in Q1 2022, to support enhanced usability, brand awareness and scalability as new blockchain infrastructure is integrated over the next 12 months. MoneyClip is available to download in Canada, for iOS and Android users and currently offers P2P payment functionality.
Wellfield also recently bolstered its advisory board by appointing global payments and fintech leader William Keliehor, who is an executive with the Canadian payments powerhouse Interac and has over 25 years of experience in more than 30 geographically diverse markets, and global financial leader Tamir Agmon, a renowned professor, researcher and globally recognized in the DeFi industry. They have also demonstrated they have the talent to build advanced technologies after announcing that PhD and theoretical computer scientist Amir Shpilka has advised their research team since 2018 and recently joined the advisory board.
Wellfield, which is led by a team of individuals with experience scaling publicly-traded growth companies that generate shareholder value, anticipates launching solutions that make bitcoin compatible with DeFi by 2022. During 2022 the company will also be launching decentralized trading protocols on the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains, as well as launching the MoneyClip app, a simple and secure way for users to trade crypto, and an all-in-one solution for DeFi products on the ETH blockchain.
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Blockchain Infrastructure Continues to be a Focus
Crypto platform Voyager Digital (TSX:VOYG) (OTC:VYGVF) entered the DeFi space in November when the company announced that it will be integrating with Avalanche to include transfers and staking of AVAX into its brokerage platform. The integration also involves a cross-ecosystem development effort of the Voyager platform and select Avalanche-based DeFi and NFT applications. On January 5, the company announced its preliminary revenue for fiscal Q2 2022, anticipating revenue of approximately $165 million.
Last month, crypto exchange platform Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) released its third quarter 2021 financial results, revealing a net income of $406 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $618 million. The company ended Q3 with approximately $6.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, including $2.0 billion in net proceeds from the senior notes issued in September 2021, as well as $92 million worth of USDC and crypto investments worth $541 million.
BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (CSE:BIGG) (OTCQX:BBKCF), owner of Netcoins and Blockchain Intelligence Group, has made some recent strategic investments in WonderFi, ZenLedger and LQwD Fintech Corp and has added TerraZero to its portfolio of minority investments. The company announced its strategic investment of CAD $100,000 in the recent private financing round of TerraZero Technologies Inc. TerraZero Technologies’ vision is to develop, acquire and fund the most promising companies, entrepreneurs and developers in the Metaverse.
In mid-December, DeFi Technologies Inc. (NEO: DEFI) (OTC: DEFTF) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Valour Inc. received approval to distribute the Top 10 Digital Asset and Top 5 DeFi ETPs. The approval, which came from Finansinspektionen the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA), enables Valour Inc. to distribute the ETP’s in the Swedish and EU markets.
The blockchain and decentralized finance industries continue to innovate through new investments and partnerships, and by bringing experts onto management teams and advisory boards.
Featured Image: DepositPhotos @ perig76
