Kevin O’Leary Backed WonderFi Bringing Its Cutting Edge DeFi Platform To Market
With Decentralized Finance—or “DeFi” for short—starting to make headway among the growing number of people clambering for democratized financial solutions, WonderFi is grabbing the market’s attention. Not only is the company among the only true DeFi platform solutions providers to list on the public exchanges (coming soon, ETA August 2021), it’s backed by Big League investors vested in its value proposition.
For those unaware of the new trend sweeping the financial world, DeFi is a system by which financial products become available on a public decentralized blockchain network, rather than going through traditional financial institutions. The software written on blockchains makes it possible for buyers, sellers, lenders, and borrowers to interact on a peer-to-peer basis and bypass transaction middlemen—a medium traditionally dominated by banks, brokerages, clearinghouses or wire agents. Technological advancements have made it possible for democratized financial solutions to reach the masses.
But with every great idea come significant barriers to adoption that must be overcome. Although this burgeoning industry has immense potential, the space is fragmented, overly complicated and possesses a steep learning curve that only experienced blockchain investors can maneuver. That leaves the average person—devoid of crypto investing experience and wallet—on the sidelines until a simplified solution is developed.
Enter WonderFi, who’s mission statement is to bring democratized and decentralized financial solutions to the masses in a way the average person can understand. The company is developing exciting innovations that attempt to overcome significant barriers that are preventing wider consumer adoption. One of which is the simplification of crypto wallet procurement, which has been identified as a primary deterrent according to CEO Ben Samaroo:
Shadd Dales: A big component towards opening an account when the platform does go live will be setting up a crypto wallet, which many consumers have no experience doing. So, how easy will the signup process be, and how do you intend to, I guess, change the perception that using and managing a crypto wallet requires technological savvy?
Ben Samaroo: Yeah, this is a really important piece. It’s probably the single largest barrier to people getting into crypto. So, we’ve integrated and tested a wide variety of different wallets, and while we do support all major wallets to make sure that people who have wallets already have a, you know, streamlined experience, we have a simplified experience with a particular wallet that we’ve identified. It’s super-simple—you can just link it to an existing Google or Facebook or other major social account (emphasis ours). No need to manage your keys or passwords. And so, you know, in our experience—and I think you get this as well is—as we’re doing user testing, it’s really showing that this is a game-changer for people with no crypto experience.
Adding excitement of WonderFi investment proposition are the backing of some major accredited investors. The company counts none other than former crypto detractor Kevin O’Leary as a major pre-public investor, in which WonderFi is purportedly his only DeFi investment. We note the similar dynamic to Kevin’s investment in MindMed in the psychedelic sector—an investment which has been tremendously bountiful to date.
The company is also backed by millenial billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of crypto exchange FTX—the third largest crypto exchange in the world—and social influencer Josh Richards, one of TikTok’s biggest stars with 25.4 million followers.
Click on the embedded link for more of our inaugural interview with WonderFi CEO Ben Samaroo, in his own words. TDR will have additional coverage on the IPO as the listing date approaches.
