The Fintech Blueprint

Lex interviews Alisa Chinedu of Remita - a payment solution platform that helps individuals and businesses make and receive payments, pay bills, and manage their finances; making it key to supporting the Nigerian payments and fintech ecosystem.  discussing the company's role in enhancing the Nigerian fintech ecosystem. Alisa delves into Remita's functionality, strategic corporate partnerships, and its integral position in commerce and e-commerce. The discussion then proceeds to analyze Nigeria's banking system's dynamics and mobile banking's significance, focusing on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). The conversation touches on the economic implications of COVID-19, the transition to digital currency, and the intricacies of eNaira, Nigeria's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). They discuss Remita's role in eNaira's adoption, the application of CBDC in social services, and the banking sector's perspective on CBDC. The interview concludes with a future-oriented exploration of eNaira's adoption, market penetration, and the multichannel approach to CBDC distribution. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Remita's Website: https://bit.ly/3OUWbMQAlisa's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/42n16t1 Topics: Payments, Paytech, CBDC, Digital Wallets, Fintech, Banking Companies: Remita, eNaira, SpeedWallet ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’29”: Remita: what it is, what it does, how it got started, and how it works with corporates 3’31”: Exploring Nigerian digital payment systems: A closer look at Remita and its role in commerce and E-commerce 6’26”: Understanding the dynamics of the banking system: An exploration of banking concentration, consumer banking situations, and the integration of digital wallets 9’03”: Exploring mobile wallets and smartphone access: Understanding digital funds transfers, population coverage, and the role of USSD in mobile banking 12’09”: Dissecting merchant codes and regulatory landscapes: Understanding the interface between feature phones, financial institutions, and mobile money providers amidst government regulation 16’32”: Deciphering Nigeria's economic landscape: Insights into inflation, impact of COVID-19, and the transition from cash to digital currency amidst economic fluctuation 21’06”: Delving into eNaira: Understanding CBDC adoption, wallet accessibility, transaction volume, and user experience amidst evolving digital currency landscape 24’39”: Remita's role in eNaira adoption: Understanding the integration process, contribution to design ideation, and the function of financial agents in product distribution 28’35”: CBDC and social services: Examining government utilization of digital currency for welfare distribution, transaction tracking, and understanding the underlying technical infrastructure 33’04”: Exploring bank relations with CBDC: Assessing retail and wholesale models, potential disintermediation concerns, and bank perspectives on eNaira adoption 35’21”: Envisioning the future of eNaira: Assessing current adoption, potential for market penetration, and the multichannel approach to CBDC distribution 39’52”: The channels used to connect with Alisa & learn more about Remita Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Eric Barbier, CEO of Triple-A. Triple-A operates as a crypto payment gateway that allows businesses to accept crypto payments. In this discussion, Eric and Lex discuss the origins and growth of Triple-A, detailing its evolution and journey through the complex world of cryptocurrency payments. Eric delves into the intricacies of building a successful crypto payments infrastructure, from risk management and liquidity to the significance of robust banking relationships and compliance frameworks. From charting his entrepreneurial path and reflecting on the roles of different players in creating value networks, to drawing comparisons between his past and current ventures, Eric concludes with strategies for connecting and learning more about TripleA's revolutionary role in broad-scale commerce. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Triple-A's Website: https://bit.ly/3II37cdEric's LinkedIn profile: bit.ly/3MC59vl Topics: Fintech, payments, paytech, crypto, commerce, ecommerce Companies: Triple-A, TransferTo, Thunes, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Mpesa ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’14”: Triple-A: what it is, what it does, how it got started, and how it has evolved over time 4’23”: Unraveling the Crypto Payments Journey: Initial Asset Considerations, Building the Merchant Network, and Understanding the Evolution of Commerce 8’41”: Navigating the Crypto Commerce Landscape: Exploring Product Market Fit, Go-to-Market Strategies, and the Impact of Geographical and Market Volatility on Adoption 13’59”: The Blueprint of Crypto Payments: Exploring Infrastructure, Risk Management, and Liquidity in Digital Asset Transactions 18’16”: Mitigating Risks in Crypto Commerce: Unveiling the Importance of Banking Relationships, Enhanced Due Diligence, and Robust Compliance Frameworks in Last-Mile Settlements 22’16”: Exploring the Penetration of Crypto in Broad-Scale Commerce: Visualizing Expansion Strategies and Assessing Potential Limitations in Market Availability 24’28”: Tracing the Entrepreneurial Journey: Insights from Thunes and the Shift from Telecommunications to Value Transfer Networks 30’03”: The Confluence of Different Players in Creating Value Networks: Reflecting on the Roles of Telcos, Banks, Card Networks, and Tech Firms in Money Movement Evolution 32’25”: Leveraging Market Demands in the Evolution of Payment Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Thunes and TripleA's Approaches to Cross-Border Payments 34’51”: The channels used to connect with Eric & learn more about Triple-A Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Anish Acharya - a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. Anish and Lex analyze the impact and adoption of disruptive platform shifts, before charting a journey through FinTech from innovative startups to high-profile acquisitions. Additionally, shedding light on Credit Karma's growth strategies and user behavior. Finishing off with a discussion of the future of FinTech, envisioning a landscape transformed by AI integration, Web 3.0 convergence, and innovative investment strategies that uncover non-traditional opportunities in financial services and consumer sectors MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION A16z's Website: https://bit.ly/3olOrIzAnish's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/438tqjt Topics: Fintech, web3, mobile, generative AI, AI, Artificial intelligence, social Companies: a16z, Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Social Deck, Snowball, Credit Karma, ChatGPT, Facebook, Google ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’54”: Anish’s foundational experiences with early stage startups & what pulled him towards entrepreneurship 7’05”: Reflecting on SocialDeck's beginnings: early hypotheses, insights from Facebook APIs and mobile behavior patterns, and the evolution of reality 12’22”: Analyzing modern platform Shifts: a deep dive into adoption rates and Disruptive Impact" 17’04”: Journey into FinTech: from mobile startups to Google and Credit Karma acquisitions - A founder's tale of innovation and acquisition Interests 20’14”: Insights from scaling Credit Karma: understanding consumer behavior and navigating the financial life of its users 25’08”: Walking the ethical tightrope in FinTech: balancing paternalistic products and dopamine-driven loops, lessons from Credit Karma and A16z 29’19”: The challenges of active and social-following copy investor platforms: examining the successes and shortcomings of companies like Covestor, Wealthfront, eToro, and M1 Finance 31’26”: Evolving the investment thesis at Andreessen Horowitz: reflections on a journey shaped by COVID, Web 3.0, NFTs, and the rise of generative AI 38’15”: The Future of FinTech: envisioning AI-integrated investment plugins and their potential role in Big Tech - insights from an Andreessen Horowitz GP 40’35”: The Convergence of AI and Web 3.0: exploring the future of privacy, digital ownership, and personalized AI agents in the evolving technological landscape 42’36”: Investing beyond the mainstream: uncovering under-the-radar opportunities in financial services and consumer sectors 44’39”: The channels used to connect with Anish & learn more about A16z Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Jacqueline Kennedy, Chief Operating Officer at Quicknode - a Web3 infrastructure platform, that helps developers and businesses build, launch, and scale blockchain-powered applications (dApps). In this episode, Jackie and Lex touch on understanding cloud infrastructure companies like DigitalOcean and AWS, understanding developer, client needs and commercial outcomes across different lines of the Web3 infrastructure business, and a deep dive into the confluence of computational and financial value in Web3. Finishing off on navigating the Multichain Future and evaluating dependencies, challenges, and future prospects of Web3 vs Big Tech.   MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Quicknode's Website: https://bit.ly/3nYHbCrJackie's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3MjHCRa Topics: Web3, infrastructure, big tech, NFT, blockchain, API, development, DApps Companies: Quicknode, Blockdaemon, AWS, DigitalOcean ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’34”: From Law School to Crypto Entrepreneurship - The journey and early experiences explained 5’04”: Deciphering Risk - perspectives from legal profession and entrepreneurship 8’23”: Understanding Infrastructure Companies - Customer approach and principles at DigitalOcean and Amazon 14’20”: Introducing QuickNode - Functionality, use case, and the journey towards its creation 16’57”: Unveiling the Web3 Infrastructure User Base - Developer interests and market personas 21’32”: Diverse API Usage - Understanding client needs and commercial outcomes across different lines of business 26’08”: Decoding Economic Models for Web3 Infrastructure Companies - pricing, value generation, and potential business models 31’42”: The Intersection of Finance and Technology - A deep dive into the confluence of computational and financial value in Web3 34’11”: Navigating the Multichain Future - Understanding the dynamics and implications for Web3 from QuickNode's perspective 37’35”: Web3 and Big Tech - Evaluating dependencies, challenges, and future prospects in the intersection of the industries 40’38”: The channels used to connect with Jackie & learn more about Quicknode Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

In this conversation, we chat with Alain Meier, the Head of Identity at Plaid. Plaid builds a data transfer network that powers fintech and digital finance products. Plaid's product, a technology platform, enables applications to connect with users’ bank accounts. Alain has spent the past decade problem-solving in all things digital identity. He was a founding member of the Stanford Bitcoin Group and went on to start identity verification company Cognito, which was acquired by Plaid. Topics: fintech, digital finance, platform, identityBrands: Plaid, Cognito, Stanford, Bitcoin ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with David Hoare, the CTO and co-founder of Codat - a universal API platform that connects small businesses to banks and other financial platforms. Together they discuss the value behind data aggregation, API integrations, SME enablement via APIs and the complexities involved in connecting large institutional businesses to API platforms. Additionally, Dave breaks down how the COVID-19 pandemic created an unexpected opportunity for Codat to help large banks deliver funds to smaller businesses in need of financial assistance. He also emphasizes the importance of buying APIs via API platforms like Codat rather than building it in-house, and so much more! MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Codat's Website: https://bit.ly/3LfoYZ1Dave's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3HnvV90 Topics: API, payments, embedded finance, fintech, payments, integration, automation Companies: Codat, Experian, PayPal, Plaid, Stripe ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’26”: Codat - what the company is, how long it has been around, some of the things it does, and how small Fintechs use Codat 9’20”: The different software packages that the data aggregation adds value to, and the types of API integrations needed for the data pull 17’07”: Envisioning the customer experience and breaking down the economics of the platform 20’22”: Breaking down the requirements involved in integrating Codat into their stack, and expanding on Codat’s partnership program with large enterprises 26’43”:  Examples of failed hypotheses and customer relationships, and surprisingly successful use case examples 33’42”: The current competitive landscape and dynamics evolving towards the future 37’10”: The channels used to connect with David & learn more about Codat Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Antonio Juliano, founder and CEO of dYdX -  a crypto derivatives trading platform that caters to professional traders outside the U.S. It averages roughly $2 billion in daily trading volume (Coinbase does about $5 billion). Antonio shares his experience working at Coinbase since 2015 when Bitcoin was dominant and Ethereum was new to the game. Together, they discuss how decentralized exchanges and automated market makers made it easier for individuals to provide liquidity and trade crypto assets. Touching on dYdX's plans to deploy a Layer 1 on Cosmos, as well as adopting a model of progressive decentralization, and so much more! MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION dYdX's Website: https://bit.ly/3H4gHFIAntonio's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3mRYTqz Topics: blockchain, crypto, layer 2, decentralized exchange, order book, perpetual contracts, crypto trading, rollups Companies: dYdX, Ethereum, Cosmos, Coinbase, Bitcoin, FTX, Solana, StarkNet ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’22”: Antonio’s foundational experiences at Coinbase, and how the concept of trading coins on a centralized exchange was received at the time 8’57”: Breaking down the definitions, functions and directions of decentralized exchanges, automated market makers, their order books, and liquidity 14’49”: What a perpetual contract is, how it functions, what are the limits and rules behind it and how it has evolved over time 24’04”: The mechanics behind the current market structure behind selling on-chain positions, and the best practices that stemmed from bad incidents 29’47”: Layer 2s - what they are relative to dYdX, what dYdX has done with them, what the current initiatives are involving them at dYdX, and their future 39’29”: The Cosmos ecosystem relative to Ethereum, and the future of how the market structure will evolve 42’29”: The future of dYdX and how it will evolve over time 45’12”: The channels used to connect with Antonio & learn more about dYdX Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Padman Perumal, CEO of Masttro. Masttro is a privately-held FinTech company that delivers a truly global wealth technology ecosystem to wealth owners and their trusted advisors. In this episode, they discuss the differences between wealth management, private banking, brokerage and banking, as well as the challenges of providing a consumer-grade digital experience for wealth management. Masttro serves ultra-high net worth clients to manage their complex investments by aggregating data from over 500 financial institutions and providing efficient tools to do so. The platform utilizes a range of technologies from document ingestion to character recognition and pattern learning to handle unstructured data. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Masttro's website: https://bit.ly/41b8PdEPadman's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3KGPeLg Topics: Fintech, wealth management, advisory, investment management, family office, institutional capital, banking, Private Banking Companies: Masttro, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, UBS, Hamilton Lane, KKR ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’36”: Padman’s foundational experiences at Credit Suisse & J.P. Morgan, and how he found roles that touch transformation for these organizations 4’31”: The difference between wealth management, private banking, brokerage, and maybe banking generally, and what it’s like doing transformation at scale 11’15”: The failures of initiatives within big institutions from the outside vs the inside, and some examples 15’26”: Masttro - what it is, what it does, and where they are at the moment 21’31”: The core entities that Masttro connects to, and differentiation of business model to competitors 25’14”: The process of structuring unstructured data and how to indicate net worth over time 30’42”: Masttro’s business model both in terms of the immediate client and the end client, and what trends are Masttro noticing between different clients 36’47”: The impact and/or benefit of the proliferation of technology around asset classes 40’07”: Intergenerational Transfer - The trends supporting the transfer of wealth to people who expect different experiences 42’12”: The channels used to connect with Padman & learn more about Masttro Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Dave Balter about the complexities of building data products on the blockchain and the importance of understanding human relationships and reality when building startups. They also discuss Flipside Crypto – a platform that builds business intelligence via a suite of analytics tools that provide insights into user behaviors, developer activities, and financial health, to crypto organizations – and MetricsDAO – a community of Web3 data analysts who provide blockchain projects with on-demand data insights and tooling. Additionally, they touch on replacing Excel with ChatGPT and on-chain  smart contract data, and how to evaluate Web3 projects, as well as the future of how the value chain stacks on top of data and analytics to actually drive decisions and potentially drive automated decisions MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Flipside Crypto's website: https://bit.ly/3KhgCPTMetricDAO's website: https://bit.ly/3MqYOESDave's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/43iT5qKDave's Twitter profile: https://bit.ly/3zE4rYv Topics: crypto, blockchain, analytics, data, AI, DAO, decentralized autonomous organizations Companies: MetricsDAO, Flipside, Flipside crypto, ChatGPT, Excel ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’23”: Dave’s foundational experiences & identifying some key threads that were formative to his experience 9’01”: The two elements that make startups difficult in general 13’22”: Flipside crypto: what it is, how it started, and how it all came together from a technical standpoint 16’46”: How difficult it is to collect high quality data in order to be successful and what the problems are along the way 22’43”: The importance of data and its supporting infrastructure is to Flipside and what the most repeatable use cases are in the market 26’01”: Segmenting out and positioning relative the competition such as: Coinmarketcap, Nansen, Messari, Glassnode, and Dune 28’30”: MetricsDAO: what it is, who is in it, and what the tokenomics are 32’06”: Replacing Excel with ChatGPT and on-chain  smart contract data, and how to evaluate Web3 projects 35’21”: The vectors of growth for the protocol and the DAO, and examples of   analytics that really made a difference 40’55”: The future of how the value chain stacks on top of data and analytics to actually drive decisions and potentially drive automated decisions 42’40”: The channels used to connect with Dave & learn more about Flipside crypto and MetricsDAO Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Christopher Goes, co-founder of Anoma and Cryptium Labs. Initially, they explore the current centralized monetary system, how it disconnects from physical changes, and the need for technology to evolve with the complexity of our financial systems. Following this, they deep dive into the differences between privacy-preserving and data-obscuring technology, and how privacy is important for citizens, governments, and communities. Ethereum, Cosmos, and Anoma have a shared vision, but their approaches to blockchains and assets differ. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Anoma's website: https://bit.ly/3K26vOJChristopher's Twitter profile: https://bit.ly/3nzD8vK Topics: Blockchain, crypto, security, privacy, protocol, zero knowledge proofs, control theory Companies: Anoma, Cryptium Labs, Heliax, Tendermint, Zchain, Namada, Ethereum, Bitcoin ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin  TIMESTAMPS 1’15”: Christopher’s foundational experiences & an in-depth into the background he needed to participate into some of his early experiences 9’11”: Control Theory: what a thermostat, the Fed funds rate and EIP-1559's gas price adjustment mechanism have in common 12’06”: Christopher’s early startup and founder experiences & identifying what is good or valuable about privacy 25’02”: The multichain vision between Ethereum, Cosmos, and Anoma, & their community’s differing opinions on the role of blockchains 32’12”: Expanding Eliezer Yudkowsky’s analogy of a map vs reality to the various ways culture influences technology and vice versa 39’25”: Introducing Anoma: What it is, the problem it is trying to solve, and the potential outcomes derived from its success 42’26”: Integrating into the Anoma ecosystem: what is the process for developers and projects, and what are the incentives driving them to so do? 44’00”: The role of zero-knowledge proofs in the protocol 44'40”: The steps Anoma are taking to grow the ecosystem, and the channels used to connect with Christopher & learn more about Anoma Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.