DeFi-ing the Odds:
How Conduit is Making Crypto Accessible for Retail Investors
By Kelly Jacques
Fintechs and neobanks have an increasing appetite for crypto. Part of this demand comes from average consumers’ curiosity about crypto and their unequal access to financial services. At a time when interest rates are low and inflation on the rise, the average person is looking to earn more on savings and may not be able to take advantage of the full suite of financial products out there. In this context, DeFi (decentralized finance) is an exciting opportunity for both consumers who want access to these products and financial institutions who want to offer them.
However, the friction to enter this market is still high, with confusing terminology, complex and often siloed technology, and a wide variety of relatively unknown brands. Many companies are skittish in holding crypto and using platforms that they are not used to. Consumers’ typical financial institutions / fintechs, used for saving and investing, don’t yet offer them a seamless experience to DeFi. On the financial institution side, there is a heavy lift in development, compliance, operations and more required to offer crypto exposure to customers.
A Much Needed Conduit
Conduit offers a solution that addresses these challenges and helps bring DeFi to the masses. The globally distributed company has built an infrastructure layer for financial institutions and fintechs that allows them to offer their customers exposure to crypto. Their Growth Earning product gives financial institutions a simple way for their customers to invest in high-yield, decentralized finance accounts with the click of a button, while their Corporate Treasury product allows financial institutions to add crypto to their treasury through secure, high-yield, crypto-backed holdings.
These solutions allow banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions to seamlessly provide access to crypto their customers want without the headaches and hassle of building the necessary infrastructure themselves.
Decrypting the Future
We’re thrilled to be backing Conduit. They have a fantastic management team, led by Kirill Gertman and Michael Gregson, with nearly a decade of experience building crypto and fintech companies. We believe Conduit will play a pivotal role in empowering consumer access to the economy by changing the DeFi landscape as we know it.
Conduit is a great company with an outstanding co-investor network. Plus, we respect and admire their mission of democratizing access to crypto and believe their infrastructure layer is poised to do just that. It’s a pleasure to welcome Conduit to our portfolio, and we look forward to partnering with the team towards what is undoubtedly a very bright future.
If you are an investor or a founder in the space and want to discuss further, contact us.
