What is Cred? Decentralized Crypto Lending & Borrowing Platform
If you haven’t heard of Cred, that may change in the near future.
Cred is a growing crypto-focused company that is developing a range of solutions for crypto holders, borrowers, and real-world merchants. The company has ambitious goals and has attracted some of the top talent in the digital payments industry to its team.
The company started in 2018 under the name Libra Credit but has since changed its name to Cred. It is well funded and has a realistic business model that may grow quickly over the next few years.
All of Cred’s activities focus on making cryptos a mainstream way to save, lend and pay, which could propel the company into a leading position in the digital payments space.
The original idea that launched the company was simple: make lending and borrowing simple.
Cryptos allow people to connect globally, and address some of the inefficiencies that exist in the banking industry. If a person wants to make a loan to someone in another country, it is almost impossible to do that at a retail level in the current financial system.
The global economy would benefit from a deeper credit market, especially if banks are removed from the equation. Cred is addressing this opportunity, and it isn’t the only area that the company is working to improve.
Cred is Making Cryptos Work
Cred is working to create solutions for everyone in the crypto ecosystem, and also make cryptos a realistic way for people to spend on everyday items.
If you want to gain from your crypto holdings, Cred is one of the best platforms to earn interest on tokens. Cred also has ways for people and businesses to borrow in tokens, which may be cheaper than fiat borrowing options.
Let’s have a quick look at some of the ways that Cred is taking the crypto economy mainstream.
For Crypto Holders
Most of the people that hold tokens are hoping for the price to rise. While this is likely to happen, it is also worth looking for ways to make a passive income from interest on your token reserves. Cred allows crypto holders to do just that, and it also works with an established insurance company to offer a higher level of security to its depositors.
Depending on the token and amount that is on deposit with Cred, token holders can earn as much as 10% per year on their portfolio. Combined with increasing prices, this makes cryptos one of the most attractive assets in the market. While rising token prices aren’t guaranteed, the interest that a depositor receives will them to wait.
For Borrowers
Access to credit is the lifeblood of any business and is also necessary for many individual purchases as well. Cred is creating ways for borrowers to access credit globally with crypto lending, and also crypto-to-fiat where regulations allow it. The net result is an entirely new source of credit, which is always good for borrowers.
For Merchants
One of the biggest things holding crypto back is their inability to be used by regular people for everyday purchases. Most people don’t know how to use Bitcoin at their local coffee shop, and it is much easier to just pull out a Visa card and pay. Cred is working to change this and has shown that it is possible in California, where its system is used by the Cannabis economy, as it has been shut out of the US banking system.
Cred Milestones
Cred just published a yearly update on their blog. In less than one year they reached profitability and signed up customers in over 190 countries and 29 US states. We also secured the California Lender’s License, added BitGo as a custody provider, and Lockton as our insurance provider.
Top Level Talent
Cred has been extremely successful in advancing its goals and attracting bright minds with lots of experience in the digital payments space. Last year the company was able to welcome talented professionals to its team, who have extensive experience in the digital payments space.
According to Scott Thompson, who was the President of PayPal and CEO of Yahoo!:
“This is one of the strongest executive teams I’ve encountered in the crypto and blockchain industry…Lu Hua, Dan Schatt and many of the individuals at Cred are former PayPal executives during my tenure. I have no doubt they will bring the same energy, commitment and results to Cred as they did at PayPal.”
Today, Thompson is an adviser to Cred, but he isn’t the only top-tier professional that is helping the company grow. Last year Maxim Rohkline joined the team as Chief Product Officer, James Alexander became the Chief Capital Officer, and Richard Oh was hired as GM for Asia operations.
Joe Podulka, another Cred team member, had this to say about the company:
“Cred is solving concrete problems for individuals, companies, and governments…Cred combines the best of blockchain and the best of traditional finance, to offer superior financial services and is insured, licensed, and compliant. It’s a pleasure to be a part of this winning team.”
Dan Wheeler is the General Counsel for Cred and a lawyer with lots of experience representing the financial industry. He was also the Chairman of the Financial Institutions Committee of the California State Bar.
Wheeler commented:
“I’ve seen many fintech and blockchain companies come across my desk as head of Bryan Cave’s Fintech practice but Cred stood out from the pack…Cred’s unique combination of global talent, growth potential, and collaborative working relationships with regulators, politicians, investors and partners is a winning formula that led me to join this highly competent team. Cred has a highly sustainable model and I expect it will have great success in the years to come.”
Cred is Expanding Possibilities
The scope of the change that Cred is working to create is large, but its reach may easily fall within its grasp. Cred already has lending facilities in excess of $250 million USD, and it is a profitable company. It is highly unlikely that the company would be able to attract the team it has put together if its goals were unrealistic.
Cred has a number of other projects, and also a token that trades as ‘LBA’. The world is ready for an integrated financial platform that leverages the inherent strengths that cryptos possess, and Cred appears to be working on how to roll out a platform that could be used by both retail-level clients and larger businesses.
New Markets on the Horizon
One of the most attractive aspects of the platform that Cred designed is the potential for it to become not only a payment platform but also an international market for credit. In many ways, the global financial system has created a situation that is easy to innovate in, as it is largely controlled by a handful of monopoly-level banks.
In addition to more expensive credit, these conditions also make the cost of consumer lending artificially high. Much in the same way that modern electronics have dropped the cost (and increased the flow) of sharing information, cryptocurrencies promise to do the same thing for capital.
There are literally billions of people who do possess the electronics necessary to participate in the global crypto ecosystem, and Cred is creating the tools that will allow finance to grow across borders, and beyond the reach of entrenched interests.
If you would like to learn more about Cred, check out its whitepaper by clicking right here. You can also visit its homepage here, and find contact information for the company. Cred offers a range of services, and it may be able to help you to integrate cryptos into your life or business.
The post What is Cred? Decentralized Crypto Lending & Borrowing Platform appeared first on Blockonomi.
OhNoCryptocurrency via https://www.ohnocrypto.com/ @Nicholas Say, @Khareem Sudlow