Pavel Matveev – WireUp

Wirex Launches 2023 Rising Women in Crypto Power List

October 2, 2023 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Wirex, the leading crypto payments platform, is excited to announce the return of the Rising Women in Crypto Power List initiative for 2023 in partnership with The Cryptonomist, a major crypto media.

The Women in Crypto campaign, now in its fourth year, aims to celebrate excellence in the cryptocurrency industry. Wirex wants this initiative to not only acknowledge the accomplishments of female leaders but also inspire younger generations worldwide to view it as an incredible career path.

Pavel Matveev, CEO & Co-Founder of Wirex, commented: “The Women in Crypto campaign is not just an annual initiative; it’s a testament to the invaluable contributions that women make to the cryptocurrency industry. We believe that fostering diversity and recognising the achievements of leaders is essential for the continued growth and innovation of our ecosystem.”

This Power List was launched in 2020 as part of Wirex’s first Women in Crypto campaign. Since then, the Power List has received over 800 nominations from more than 50 countries, emphasising the global impact of this initiative.

He further added, “As we launch the 2023 Rising Women in Crypto Power List in collaboration with The Cryptonomist, we are not only celebrating the accomplishments of tenured change-makers but also striving to inspire a new wave of talent to join the crypto revolution.”

For the 2023 Power List, there will be 12 winners, including two additional awards to recognise extraordinary talent:

Social media influencer of the year – for those who have not only mastered the art of content creation but have also used it to drive positive change and inspire others.
Compliance leader of the year – for those who have shown outstanding contributions to compliance, regulation and building trust in the crypto field.

Nominations will be open to the public from 2^nd October until 6^th November 2023, with the panel of judges announcing a shortlist of 12 overall winners on 27th November 2022.

Individuals can nominate themselves or someone they know, with judging criteria based on their achievements, potential, influence, ambition, leadership skills and innovation.

Wirex Launches world’s first ‘Mass-Market’ Non-Custodial DeFi Wallet

December 14, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Wirex, a crypto-friendly digital payments company, today unveiled its mass-market non-custodial Wirex Wallet, solidifying the company’s leading position in the crypto and DeFi spheres. With the mass adoption of DeFi on the horizon, Wirex believes their cross-chain, keyless, highly secure Wallet will finally break down the barriers to mainstream adoption.

The Wirex Wallet, available to download from app stores, allows users to manage more than 100 different cryptocurrencies from their mobile device securely and efficiently. Co-Founder and CEO, Pavel Matveev, believes the Wirex Wallet will give a new generation of users access to DeFi by including unique features that make it easier and more secure than ever to use.

Uniquely, the app will not require a private key, and instead will rely on biometrics for access. Combining an exceptional user experience with multi-party computation technology ensures resilient security and compliance, rendering complex seed phrases and private keys unnecessary.

Matveev believes the Wirex Wallet will give a new generation of users’ access to DeFi, “Wirex is always looking for ways to make digital currencies more accessible and we believe this Wallet is a world-first in making that a mainstream reality. We want to give crypto users access, flexibility and control over their holdings without worrying if their funds are safe, losing their private key, high gas fees or the need to spread their tokens across different apps and platforms.”

He suggests that high fees on the Ethereum blockchain and fragmented liquidity across different blockchains is a turnoff to potential DeFi users, where the very people that could gain most from DeFi are simply priced out of the opportunity. Taking the best of Wirex’s existing infrastructure, the Wallet offers cross-chain compatibility across the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, with expansion to faster, cheaper Layer 2 networks in the pipeline. This interoperability allows users to swap DeFi tokens across blockchains with unparalleled ease, offering access to a wider pool of tokens, technologies and use cases within a single wallet.

The Wallet cements Wirex’s mission to make the benefits of digital currency and DeFi available to the widest global audience, with Matveev citing it as the ‘next piece of the puzzle’ in offering a full fintech-to-DeFi ecosystem to Wirex users. “We’ve made a series of major announcements in 2021 that creates a full ecosystem for every kind of cryptocurrency user. Our crypto-enabled Wirex app and card is available in three regions across the world, our CeFi offering – X-Accounts – was recently expanded to an additional 81 countries, and the Wirex Wallet will be available globally, putting a Wirex product in reach of everyone on the planet. That level of accessibility is what really excites us about this launch.”

The launch follows a series of DeFi-oriented product announcements from Wirex that are thought will position the company for exponential growth. In December 2021, the company announced a new whitepaper, widening the use cases of Wirex’s WXT, as well as announcing a 5 billion WXT investment in new DeFi protocol, Nereus. Earlier this year, the company launched a hugely popular DeFi savings product, X-Accounts, which enables users to earn up to 16% APR interest on both fiat and crypto funds, without the associated complexity and cost. Thanks to a direct connection with AAVE and Compound, the Wirex Wallet will empower users to access even higher rates of APR interest – up to 25%.

For the Wallet, Wirex has an ambitious roadmap to develop its functionality, enabling the ability to send and receive NFTs, as well as expanding compatibility with the Solana blockchain. By expanding the product, they aim to give more choice, lower fees and greater simplicity for people globally.

Wirex Wallet Features

Ability to manage over 100 cryptocurrencies
Easy access to DeFi and NFTs
No need for a private key, seed phrases or prior Wirex membership
Simple purchases of WXT and other crypto using debit and credit card
Cross-chain swaps across Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, with expansion to Solana and other blockchains on the roadmap
Resilient security measures including sophisticated SMPC encryption and privacy-first anonymous biometric backups
Low blockchain fees
Available to download from the Google Play and App Store

Wirex Reveals White Label for its Hybrid Crypto, Fiat & DeFi Services

October 14, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Leading next-gen payments platform Wirex is white labelling its unique hybrid fiat and crypto services for the first time. The white label solution enables businesses across the fintech, DeFi, banking and crypto industries to benefit from the company’s innovative technologically-advanced and compliance-ready products and features.

Following dramatic growth in the crypto and DeFi market over the past year, there has been an astronomical increase in demand for DeFi projects that are integrated with traditional financial infrastructure. With a seven-year track record of payments innovation, Wirex are perfectly positioned to meet this demand. The company has developed a world-class product that allows users to buy, hold, exchange and spend multiple traditional and cryptocurrencies using a single, intuitive platform and debit card. The Wirex platform also offers easy access to DeFi-powered savings features with none of the associated user complexity or cost.

There are few other businesses in the crypto space that are capable of white labelling a combined crypto-and-traditional-currency solution – and with nearly 4 million customers across 130 countries having thoroughly-battle tested Wirex’s products and services, a high level of interest in the white label solution has been generated already. The London-based fintech leverages a long-standing reputation for innovation, experience, security and regulatory compliance; their use of next-generation technology recently saw Wirex awarded the FSTech ‘Cryptoasset Innovation of the Year’ prize.

As both the first company to develop a crypto-enabled debit card and crypto rewards programme and the first crypto-native company to achieve principal membership of Mastercard, Wirex has made its mark on the industry. The fintech is also renowned for its unwavering commitment to customer security, working with trusted partners such as Fireblocks, Chainalysis, ZeroHash and Elliptic. Its knowledgeable and diligent in-house Compliance team endeavours to secure the appropriate licences where they exist – and applies gold-plated regulatory standards where they don’t – making the use of Wirex services attractive for businesses seeking hybrid crypto and fiat solutions based on extensive experience, expertise and existing licences.

The crypto-enabled Visa/Mastercard card product allows for instant crypto-to-fiat conversion, providing a real-time rate and seamless user experience. Similarly, Wirex’s native WXT token is deeply integrated into the platform, acting as a universal loyalty scheme for customers with up to 2% Cryptoback rewards on any purchases made. One of the company’s most popular features is X-Accounts, a revolutionary savings tool that allows for DeFi-generated high yield of up to 16% AER interest on both fiat and digital assets. White labelling the X-Accounts represents a huge opportunity for traditional financial institutions and fintechs to give their customers uncomplicated, inexpensive access to DeFi benefits.

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, says “We expect there to be a huge demand for this service, as most of the white-label solutions from crypto companies like ours only offer the fiat side. We have always combined best-in-class expertise and technology to enable everyday users to have straightforward access to the benefits of crypto, and with our white labelling solution, we can enable the customers of crypto and DeFi projects, traditional financial banks and institutions, and fintech companies around the world to experience the same.”

Interest in X-Accounts Skyrockets as Wirex Lists 15 New Coins on Platform

July 13, 2021 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Wirex, the leading digital payments platform enabling everyone to access the benefits of blockchain technology, has added 15 new coins to their platform. The news follows the recent addition of their X-Accounts feature, which has now seen nearly $10 million worth of funds secured in them.

Since inception in 2014, Wirex have been on a mission to enable users of all abilities to easily buy, hold, exchange and sell crypto. With an explosion of interest in the decentralised finance (DeFi) space in recent years, Wirex have sought to develop their product to give nearly 4 million customers worldwide the ability to take advantage of this.

Since 7th June, Wirex have added 15 tokens from some of the most popular DeFi players*. These include Universal Market Access (UMA), OMG Network (OMG), Basic Attention Token (BAT), 0x (ZRX), Synthetix (SNX), FTX Token (FTT), Loopring (LRC), Kyber Network (KNC), Curve (CRV), Compound (COMP), SushiSwap (SUSHI), Augur (REP), Bancor (BNT), Balancer (BAL) and 1INCH. In May, the company announced that they had launched Aave (AAVE), Maker (MKR), Chainlink (LINK), Uniswap (UNI) and Yearn.Finance (YFI).

Since then, Wirex has made headlines globally after releasing their game-changing X-Accounts feature on the platform. Solidifying their endeavour to become one of the world’s most accessible interest-paying accounts ever, the company has already seen nearly $10 million worth of funds stored in across more than 12,000 accounts, which continues to grow at an astronomical rate. Unprecedented when compared to competitors and high-street banks, it offers users the ability to earn up to 16% interest back and demonstrates the staggering demand for next-generation DeFi services.

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, said that: “Democratising access to crypto, and now DeFi, has always been at the heart of Wirex, and no better has this been demonstrated by the huge excitement of our customers over the last few months. The rollout of tokens from leading DeFi projects, as well as the incredible popularity of X-Accounts has cemented our position as a market-leader, and we hope to continue to innovate to ensure our commitment to the digital economy.”

Bringing DeFi to the Masses: Launch of X-Accounts & Fireblocks Partnership

June 23, 2021 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Digital payments platform, Wirex, has announced the launch of their game-changing X-Accounts feature, and partnership with Fireblocks, an industry-leading crypto provider. Set to become one of the world’s most accessible interest-paying accounts, X-Accounts will allow users to earn up to 16% on their crypto and fiat funds*.

Wirex’s long-term goal has been to make crypto ‘open to all’, offering the ability to utilise crypto in the everyday with the world’s first crypto-enabled debit card. With decentralised finance (DeFi) becoming hugely popular in recent months, the latest announcement will open up the often complex and expensive DeFi space to everyone, from hardcore crypto investors to casual, everyday users, and bring the benefits of DeFi to the mass market.

X-Accounts will allow customers to earn unprecedented levels of interest on both fiat and crypto funds* when compared to competitors and high-street banks. Avoiding the expensive fees and complicated processes often associated with DeFi and yield farming, users will have the ultimate control over their funds, with instant access, no minimum holdings and no maintenance fees for each pot.

Combined with Wirex’s other market-leading benefits, the addition of X-Accounts reaffirms the company’s vision to become the go-to crypto platform for users of all abilities. This includes consistently low fees, exclusive interbank and OTC exchange rates, free international ATM withdrawals, up to 2% Cryptoback rewards on card purchases, and the ability to hold multiple crypto and fiat accounts with a single intuitive app.

Further removing the complexity and trust issues often associated with owning a crypto wallet, Wirex have also announced the upcoming integration with Fireblocks’ enterprise technology to offer maximum security of user’s funds. Developing Wirex’s reputation for regulatory compliance and customer safety, the partnership will give Wirex up to $30 million of insurance on crypto assets.

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, said that: “X Accounts will give everyday users easier than ever access to DeFi, offering quick cryptodeposits and high interest rates on anyone’s fiat and crypto holdings, meaning customers can sit back and watch their assets grow like never before. By working with Fireblocks to offer secure, scalable and built-in compliance protocols, customers can use X-Accounts without worrying about the risk that’s often found with many DeFi products.”

Michael Shaulov, CEO and Co-Founder of Fireblocks, describes the technology’s significance: “Maximising digital asset security is extremely important with this level of operational scale and efficiency, especially when it comes to DeFi. Building on top of the Fireblocks platform will bring an additional layer of security to Wirex’s customers as they become a part of the growing DeFi ecosystem.”

The latest news has further solidified Wirex’s support for the DeFi space, following a series of important announcements. In May, Wirex migrated 20% of their native token, WXT, to the Ethereum blockchain, and recently hosted an exclusive NFT giveaway. Since then, they’ve launched multiple ERC-20 tokens on the platform, including UNI, AAVE and MKR, with plans for many more.

Fintech Wirex Adds WXT to Ethereum in DeFi Push

May 6, 2021 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Digital payments platform, Wirex, has announced the migration of a fifth of their popular native token, the Wirex Token (WXT), from the Stellar Network to the Ethereum blockchain. Following the successful launch of WXT two years ago, Wirex will move 20% of the total supply to allow greater access to the benefits of decentralised finance (DeFi) for Wirex users and beyond.

The London-based company has been on a mission to bring decentralised digital currency to the masses since its launch in 2014. Innovation has been at the core of their growth, developing an industry-leading platform that empowers their 3.5 million customers to have easy access to crypto in everyday life. They’ve already made headlines for becoming the first company in the world to develop a crypto-enabled debit card, the first crypto rewards programme, Cryptoback, and by becoming the first crypto-friendly company to achieve principal membership of Mastercard.

As the crypto space evolves and the use of decentralised apps (Dapps) explodes, today’s development endeavours to bring the benefits of DeFi to a mainstream audience. WXT will become a unique multi-blockchain cryptocurrency, as the company migrates 20% of its total supply (2 billion WXT) from the Stellar Network to the Ethereum blockchain. The move will present a huge range of benefits to holders of WXT, including increased power, efficiency and flexibility, whilst giving more people access to DeFi with the ability to utilise WXT on a multitude of Dapps.

Pavel Matveev, the CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, commented on this landmark moment:

“Wirex without innovation isn’t an option. We’ve always believed in the potential for DeFi to change the way people think about and use money, and making WXT available on the most popular and powerful blockchain for DeFi applications is a no-brainer. At Wirex, our role is to make DeFi tangible, safe and accessible for our customers to use in real life. Listing a percentage of our WXT token on the Ethereum network will allow additional innovations for our customers.”

Wirex successfully launched WXT on the Stellar network in June 2019. As the go-to network for super-powered cross-border payments, the partnership helped Wirex to bring low-cost, near-instant payments to the mainstream. With blockchain technology having much broader applications than just payments, the decision was made to widen access to DeFi and allow customers to get more out of the Wirex platform. Matveev adds:

“As a crypto-friendly business, we don’t advocate any one platform or currency, rather the ability to choose the best financial products that match the needs of our customers.”

The announcement is just part of Wirex’s wider commitment to the DeFi movement and mass adoption of crypto. The company has plans to launch other DeFi features through 2021, including the addition of new DeFi coins on the platform, as well as the launch of X-Accounts which will enable passive income from crypto on pots of money set aside in-app.

More information about the addresses and exchanges listing WXT can be found at: wirexapp.com/blog/post/wxt-added-to-ethereum-in-defi-push-0313

Crypto-Friendly Fintech Wirex Temporarily Pauses Recruiting New UK Customers

March 24, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

The Fintech company Wirex has announced its decision to voluntarily pause new UK customers of its popular app as of 24^th March 2021. The pause is a temporary measure and follows constructive dialogue with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK regulator.

From this date, Wirex will temporarily pause accepting new clients who are resident in the UK. The company – which serves nearly 3.5 million customers worldwide – will dedicate resources to further strengthen its 5AMLD (Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive) compliance protocols, conforming with the updated best practice guidelines set by the UK regulator. As Pavel Matveev, Co-Founder & CEO of Wirex explains:

“As a fintech with a global outlook, we’re at the frontier of making cryptocurrencies accessible to the widest possible audience. The UK’s ‘5AMLD’ will help increase transparency in financial transactions. The FCA have, in dialogue with us, made suggestions on how we can implement changes to our operational procedures, which we welcome and intend to follow. We believe London is the capital of fintech and the FCA’s recommendations will help us create a stable environment to operate in. We fully endorse the Khalifa Fintech Review findings about growing the UK-based fintech ecosystem and see ourselves as an integral partner in achieving this. UK-based users keen to register for our app and card will be invited to join our waiting list during this temporary pause.”

A global business with offices around the world, Wirex has experienced explosive growth during the last two years, driven by its expansion worldwide and a heightened public interest in cryptocurrencies. The Wirex app allows users to buy, exchange and spend both cryptocurrencies and traditional fiat currencies in conjunction with a multicurrency payment card.

Wirex Becomes Principal Member of Visa Network in Europe

December 22, 2020 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Leading payments platform, Wirex, has become a principal member of Visa in Europe, a highly respected achievement for the London-based business with ambitious plans for 2021.

Having successfully completed Visa’s FinTech Fast Track Programme, Wirex have secured the sought after principal membership from the global payments company. Principal membership will allow Wirex to issue Visa cards themselves, offer new innovative products, and apply for additional licences.

The announcement comes at a pivotal time for the digital economy, with Bitcoin recently hitting its all time high¹ and a series of large industry players recently showing support for cryptocurrency.

Wirex already offers their services to over 3 million people across the EEA and APAC regions, and research shows the use of crypto is continuing to grow². Wirex themselves have experienced a 271% increase in the number of crypto exchanges on their platform compared to this time last year.³

“Digital currencies have the potential to extend the value of digital payments to a greater number of people and places,” said Cuy Sheffield, Senior Director and Head of Cryptocurrency, Visa. “We’re excited to work with innovative Fintechs like Wirex and enable their customers to use digital currencies at more than 61 million merchants on the Visa network.”

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, said that: “It’s been our core goal to unite the traditional and digital economies, and collaborations with trusted global payments companies such as Visa are making this possible by providing straight and cost-effective solutions for utilising crypto in the everyday. It’s no easy feat to achieve principal membership and will present numerous opportunities to continue developing a revolutionary product.”

Wirex have had a long-standing partnership with Visa, having worked together to ensure Wirex was the first company in the world to issue a contactless crypto-enabled debit card in 2014⁴. The card enables customers to seamlessly spend up to 20 traditional and cryptocurrencies at over 61 million locations globally. Linked up to a next-generation app where they can be bought, held, exchanged or sold, the company was also the first to develop a cryptocurrency rewards scheme, Cryptoback, that rewards users up to 1.5% in Bitcoin for any purchases made with their debit card.

After a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign in October that raised nearly $5 million (US), the announcement rounds off a hugely successful year for the SBI group-backed company. With an overhaul of their rewards programme and launch in the US imminent, it’s thought that 2021 will be an even more extraordinary year for Wirex.

Wirex’s ‘Rising Women in Crypto Power List’ Announced

November 3, 2020 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Leading payments company, Wirex, in partnership with The Fintech Times, has revealed its 2020 ‘Rising Women in Crypto Power List’. After receiving 367 entries, the esteemed judging panel have chosen the 10 most inspirational women at the forefront of the crypto industry.

The ‘Power List’ was created as part of Wirex’s inaugural ‘Women in Crypto’ campaign, endeavouring to showcase the achievements of women in the field and inspire others to get involved. After the longlist was published last month, the judges narrowed it down based on nominees’ achievements, potential, leadership skills, ambition, influence and innovation in the crypto field. The winners come from a variety of backgrounds and include women working in events, research and content creation.

Wirex and The Fintech Times’ 2020 ‘Rising Women in Crypto Power List’ is (in no particular order):

Noelle Acheson, Director of Research, CoinDesk
Professor Tonya M. Evans, Professor, Penn State Dickinson Law
Lucy Gazmararian, Associate Director, PWC Crypto & Fintech Advisory
Susan Crew, Content Creator, “Crypto Granny”
Simone Maini, Chief Executive Officer, Elliptic
Inbal Polak, Director of Fund for Digital Assets, YRD Capital
Elizabeth Kukka, Executive Director, Ethereum Classic Labs
Sofie Blakstad, CEO, hiveonline
Christina Lomazzo, Blockchain Lead, UNICEF
Lenka Hudáková, Events Manager, Maker Foundation

The announcement comes during the final phase of the campaign, with a ‘Women in Crypto’ takeover of the Wirex channels taking place from the 26th October until the 8th November. This will feature content from women working at Wirex, as well as female influencers in the crypto and fintech fields. Contributors include: Ashley Koh, COO at Spark Systems, about what she’s learnt as a woman in fintech; George Coxon, COO at the Nano Foundation, with three things you didn’t know about Nano; and Erica Stanford, Founder of the Crypto Curry Club, with top tips for surviving networking events.

Wirex CEO and Co-Founder – and ‘Power List’ judge – Pavel Matveev, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response we’ve received so far, and we’re delighted to finally reveal the ‘Power List’ top 10.”

The platform’s aim has always been to empower everyone to have access to cryptocurrency, leading Matveev to explain that “with so many inspirational women nominated, it was a difficult decision. But I’m confident that those picked represent the incredible talent of females in this field and I hope they inspire other women to be a part of this rapidly developing sector.”

The ‘Women in Crypto’ takeover will continue until 8th November with content being housed on the ‘Women in Crypto’ hub, and more information about the shortlist winners can be found on this link.

Tag: Pavel Matveev