CardStarter, the world’s premier incubator, launchpad, and insurance program for Cardano projects, will launch the IDO for Credefi, a platform that aspires to liberalize the banking sector by becoming the decentralized financial gateway for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), providing a full suite of financial services to cover their needs.
Credefi registration begins on Sunday, October 31st @ 8AM PST/3PM UTC and will close Wednesday November 3rd@ 8AM PST/3PM UTC. The IDO will take place Monday, November 8th@ 8AM PST/3PM UTC.
In traditional finance, SMEs have been historically underserved by banking institutions. Loans issued are subject to high interest rates, and borrowers significantly outnumber lenders. This has forced SMEs to turn to alternative sources of funding such peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding. Conversely, decentralized finance has leveled the playing field by providing retail investors an opportunity to grow and preserve wealth like never before, through innovative lending and borrowing protocols. Nonetheless, returns generated by DeFi protocol are highly dependent on market sentiment. Since yield is tied to the Total Value Locked, it is healthy when the market is booming, but is massively reduced when the market is declining.
Credefi aims to give all users lending and borrowing options that have only been offered by the traditional banking system through a decentralized platform. The platform will be rolled out in three phases. In the first phase, Credefi will enable passive lending in credit portfolios of varying risk and return profile based on individual preference. In the next phase, users will be able to partake in peer-to-peer lending between interested parties without rent-seeking intermediaries. In the last phase, Credefi aims to roll out trade finance services, enabling customers to engage in cross-border credit deals, underwrite letters of credit and factoring services.
The platform’s tri-layer protection mechanism is designed to provide lenders with the highest security. Credefi’s in-house credit scoring system was developed by a team with over 40 years of experience in finance in partnership with a global leader in data analytics and statistics. Users will also be able to use crypto and real-world assets as collateral. The real-world assets will be managed by an EU licensed financial institution, and on-chain validation of asset value will be done via Lithium Finance as an oracle. Lastly, Credefi has also designed a security module that offers additional security to the protocol that can be accessed by staking CREDI, the platform’s utility token.
Ultimately, the team at Credefi believes that financial services should be accessible to everyone regardless of status and geographical location. They aim to build the de facto platform that empowers SMEs to utilize the power of DeFi to improve their businesses and unlock their true potential.
“Credefi’s goal embodies the essence of crypto and defi. Cardstarter aims to break down the barriers to resources for retail investors and SMEs. We are very excited about our collaboration and look forward to changing the world of finance.” ~ Aatash Amir, CEO Cardstarter
About CardStarter
CardStarter is the first incubator, launchpad and insurance program for projects being built on the Cardano network. The CARDS platform is a unique and dynamic launchpad, connecting projects to early supporters and a network of key partners. The Cards Accelerator Program (CAP) team works with each project individually to establish the right connections and map marketing strategies, establishing the foundation for long term success.
CardStarter is also differentiated by its charge to protect its supporters. CARDS provides unbiased third-party audits of every project’s code and protects IDO participants with an in-house insurance program. CardStarter is proudly partnered with X21 Digital, BlockSync Ventures, Moonwhale Ventures, Genesis Shards, Plethori, Fractal, PARSIQ, Scryptic Tech and Longtail Financial. Once fully built, CardStarter will be an all-inclusive platform with a decentralized exchange to complement the current offerings. CardStarter also aims to be a nurturing force in the Cardano ecosystem, with hackathons and project development support being a major focus of the roadmap.
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About Credefi
Credefi is the lending platform that connects SME borrowers to lenders in the crypto space. Traditional financial institutions have historically underserved SME borrowers and applied high interest rates to loans issued. In the fiat economy, lenders largely outnumber borrowers, thus forcing SMEs to seek alternative lending solutions. In the DeFi space, the opposite is true. Borrowers are speculative and are unable to satisfy the lending supply while yield is dictated by market sentiment. Credefi kills two birds with one stone by offering a reliable lending platform to creditworthy borrowers.
Credefi is backed by Peech Capital, Metrix Capital, LucidBlue Ventures, X21, AU21 Capital, Moonrock Capital, ZBS Capital and Heslin Kim. It is partnered with Polygon, Lithium Finance, Reef Finance, M6, CryptoDiffer, Prime Code and WeiChain.
