Change is good. Without it, we’d still be sleeping in caves – or paying for goods and services with cash. Yuck!
We embrace change at Wirex, whether it’s new forms of payment (did we mention that Wirex introduced the world’s first crypto-enabled debit card?), new ways to reward our loyal customers (Cryptoback™ rewards on your in-store and online shopping anyone?), or exciting new technologies like Decentralised Finance (DeFi). Our core philosophy – to bridge the gap between traditional and digital payments and make crypto more accessible to everyone – is a reflection of a huge change in the way that people around the world use their money.
With more pivotal change imminent – including the rapid realisation of a genuine consumer Metaverse - we’re delighted to announce the release of a brand-new Wirex Whitepaper. This document reaffirms our commitment to uniting the disparate worlds of fiat and cryptocurrency, reveals several new fintech and DeFi innovations and outlines an extensive overhaul of our native token, WXT.
Still hungry? Well, alongside the whitepaper, we can reveal that Wirex will invest 5bn WXT as part of a partnership with the game-changing DeFi protocol, Nereus. More on that later.
Metaverse-ready
With its updated vision for the Wirex Token, the new whitepaper establishes Wirex at the vanguard of technological innovation and lays the groundwork for integration into the futurist’s holy grail: the metaverse. Wirex co-founder and CEO Pavel Matveev explains.
“The metaverse will lead to seismic change, both economic and social. We see two metaverse trends evolving - convergence and inclusion. Financial products that can operate seamlessly across digital and fiat currencies will be the norm, and over 1bn people worldwide will be participants in this novel ecosystem. Wirex aims to be at the forefront of metaverse innovation by widening our product offering, removing the barriers between fiat and cryptocurrency rails, and offering new financial products with our native token, WXT, at their core.”
But what does it mean for you, our loyal customers? Here’s a quick breakdown of the big stuff:
X-tras 2.0
X-tras 2.0 represents a substantial upgrade of our extremely successful rewards programme, with a renewed role for WXT at its core. The first iteration of X-tras helped make it easier for people to use and benefit from cryptocurrencies – X-tras 2.0 will do the same for DeFi, stripping away the complexity and cost that’s usually required to take advantage of DeFi-powered saving and earning. X-tras 2.0 is all about HODLing - you’ll be able to stake WXT in-app in return for significantly higher levels of Cryptoback™ rewards (up to 8% back on online and in-store purchases!), not to mention returns of up to 16% on your crypto and fiat holdings.
Wirex Wallet
Fresh out of the oven! The brand-new multi-chain Wirex Wallet is an innovative Web 3.0-ready, non-custodial digital asset storage solution. What does that mean? Well, it allows you to manage more than 100 different cryptocurrencies and other digital assets from your mobile device securely and efficiently, without the need for a private key or Wirex membership. It’s another powerful tool in the Wirex DeFi arsenal, with a direct connection to AAVE and Compound - not to mention compatibility with the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Sophisticated multi-party computation (MPC) technology and biometric back-up means unparalleled security without sacrificing user experience.
In Pavel’s words, “the launch of the Wirex Wallet reflects the aggressive growth of hybrid financial products. The metaverse will see more users demanding safe and secure lending, borrowing and staking, all of which will be available within the Wirex ecosystem for digital and fiat currencies.”
Nereus Protocol
Now for something a little bit different. Alongside the release of our new Whitepaper, we’re also very excited to announce that Wirex will invest a whopping 5bn Wirex Tokens in a brand-new, cross-chain DeFi lending protocol called Nereus – one of the first DeFi 2.0 projects to hit the market. Conceived and created by a team of former Wirex employees, Nereus has been designed to address problems thrown up by the first generation of veteran DeFi lending protocols like Curve and Compound. These include issues of fair governance, user experience, convenience and cost. Nereus offers a fresh approach – one with an emphasis on both democratic governance and cross-chain compatibility.
“We are entering the era of the ‘blockchain multiverse’,” Pavel explains. “In it, every blockchain represents its own unique ecosystem or universe which means there is strong demand for a protocol which offers a unified lending experience across multiple chains.”
Not only does Nereus stand to fill this role, its core philosophy of opening up DeFi benefits to a wider audience chimes with our own. This is why we’re investing 50% of the total WXT supply to establish the protocol on the Avalanche network. It’s a match made in heaven - Nereus gets instant access to our 4million-strong client base, while WXT is established as the protocol’s main liquidity and reward token.
“The Nereus Protocol investment positively complements Wirex’s global vision. We’re on a mission to make all currencies equal, and to widen participation in digital currencies. The Nereus team has our full support in building an independent DeFi protocol in which as many people as possible can participate in making governance decisions and benefit from its lending and borrowing features. Nereus’ decision to use WXT offers great benefits to both parties. For WXT holders, it represents another use case and benefit of the currency; for Nereus, they will have access to a liquid currency already available on exchanges, held by millions of people. The new Wirex Wallet will make participation within the protocol even easier for Wirex customers.”