Decentralised finance (DeFi) is booming today and has become one of the hottest topics in tech and finance. Aside from enriching many participants, DeFi poses heavy competition to traditional banking. Since it became popular in 2020, many new projects have emerged, increasing competition and offering better opportunities to crypto lovers.
In Africa, where crypto adoption is happening faster than in any other region, Xend Finance — Africa’s first blockchain-based bank — is at the forefront of DeFi innovation.
Africans have several reasons to adopt cryptocurrencies, and blockchain is disrupting even the most unexpected sectors. But the most prominent need for cryptocurrencies comes from the need to hedge against constant inflation and currency devaluation. However, cryptocurrencies also have a reputation of high volatility, making them risky for people seeking to protect their earnings with them.
Xend Finance solves this problem by letting users convert fiat currency into stable cryptocurrencies and earn interest as high as 15 per cent on their savings. Users can also buy the company’s native $XEND tokens and stake them for passive income. And even though most people still have a hard time understanding cryptocurrencies and DeFi, Xend Finance makes their platform simple enough for individuals, cooperatives and credit unions anywhere in the world to operate. So you and your friends can create a joint savings plan (Esusu) with crypto and earn interest using Xend Finance.
Less than one year after its official launch, Xend Finance created the first-ever cross-chain high yield aggregator. This aggregator means your savings on Xend Finance automatically scan multiple blockchains for the highest interest rates you can earn. They also commissioned the first African decentralised launchpad and hosted the largest ever Blockchain Hackathon.
Because of these giant strides, Ugochukwu Aronu, CEO of Xend Finance, accepted an award on behalf of the company at the Techpoint awards for the Most Outstanding Alternative Use of Blockchain.
Roadmap for 2022
2021 was, without a doubt, a year of ground-breaking firsts and noteworthy achievements for Xend Finance, which you can learn all about here. But the company is only getting started. In 2022, Xend Finance aims at the mainstream adoption of its innovations. This move aligns with their goal of bridging the gap between financial problems and blockchain solutions. So it won’t be targeting only the crypto-savvy populace but letting non-crypto people benefit from their services.
The Xend Finance App is the first crypto banking app out of Africa. Despite the many challenges of pioneering an innovative movement, it has gained massive acceptance among users, reaching 30,000 users within a few months after launch. Now, Xend Finance wants to reach 1,000,000 users by the end of 2022.
Most of Xend Finance’s users leave positive reviews on both Apple and Google Play stores. Xend’s high app rating proves that it provides a seamless crypto banking experience for its users. Also, users feel safe with their platform as the company has insured their savings through the blockchain insurance company Tidal Finance.
At the beginning of the year, Xend Finance committed to empowering young adults at the start of their careers by introducing them to the possibilities of saving and earning money in stable cryptocurrencies. The university roadshow kicked off in February at the University of Nigeria, Enugu, where they engaged over 1,000 new users. Their next stop was the University of Lagos, and it was also a huge success.
The Xend Launchpad is another milestone in Xend Finance’s disruptive journey. Great businesses such as Wicrypt have launched using the launchpad, marking Xend Finance’s efforts to fast-track innovation in Africa by giving much-needed exposure to promising indigenous startups. Wicrypt is a mobile internet sharing and monetisation network enabling peer-to-peer mobile internet data sharing to provide last mile internet connectivity.
As we approach the close of the first quarter, Xend Finance consistently takes giant strides towards creating a better DeFi ecosystem. The company aims to help Defi scale and hit one billion users globally. This motive prompted the creation of products like their layer-2 protocol – which allows any developer to build on top of their platform – the Xend Finance mobile app, and the auto yield aggregator on Binance and Polygon.
Judging by the series of disruptive moves this company has made within such a short while, it’s easy to predict that it will break more ground through innovative Xend products and drive mainstream adoption of DeFi.
