Treasury Proposal: Onramp/Offramp for retailers & merchants

Proponent: Mike Blank, CEO at EXMO.com

Date: 17.10.2023

Requested DOT: 55 253

Short description: Onramp/Offramp solution for retailers & merchants

Project Category/Type: Ecosystem collaboration

Previous treasury proposals: N/A

1. Context of the proposal

About us

Exmo is a reputable and secure cryptocurrency exchange, serving a global community of traders and investors since 2014. With our user-friendly interface and advanced trading features, we provide a seamless experience for users to access a wide range of cryptocurrencies and trade with confidence.

Key facts:

• $50 mln daily volume

• 1 mln+ of KYCed users

• 4k monthly active traders

• Top-40 on Coingecko

• Member of CryptoUK

• Member of TRUST

• 180 pairs and 5 fiat currencies 

• Team of 135+ crypto enthusiasts

• Offices in the UK, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and the US

• Set up SaveUkraine Relief $2mln+ fund

• Partnered with Gearbox DAO to launch the Earn program

Our team

Mike Blank

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/mishablank/) – CEO, co-founder of DeFi protocol Augmented Finance (https://augmented.finance/), an investment professional who has extensive experience working for a US-based family office and investing in top-tier US startups like Uber, Hyperloop One, and others.

Matt Dangerfield

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdangerfield/) – CTO, top-level executive experienced in the areas of software, hardware and technology-related services and products. Invented and patented a number of tech solutions for trading and worked for such companies as KOINE and Cobalt.

Advisors: 

Jeff Burton

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffburtonofficial/). Serial Entrepreneur from the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to being a Co-Founder of EA, he is the founder of Skydeck Berkeley, the only cross-discipline startup accelerator at UC Berkeley and two MBA from Stanford University and its Graduate School of Business. 

Alan Hampton

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-hampton-291b57a/). Experienced executive with a demonstrated history and track record in the financial services industry. Skilled in Venture Capital, Private Equity, Listed Equities, Capital Markets, and General Strategy and Management. Strong business development professional with a joint MBA and MIA degrees from Columbia University's Columbia Business School and the School of International and Public Affairs.

Partnerships

Over the last few years, EXMO has partnered with a large number of key players in the blockchain industry. To enhance the security we partnered with Ledger & Fireblocks. To get media attention & more visibility – with Coingecko where we advertise. As of today the main partner that helps our users to earn yield is the

Gearbox DAO

(https://snapshot.org/#/gearbox.eth/proposal/0x432d3bfeaeb0ba51db37e9cee91412958b3c312ff95c5fbffeb38d45ee20d005). As of today our users supplied more than $2mln of different crypto assets to the Earn program which is subsidized by the GEAR tokens. 

2. Problem statement

The Polkadot ecosystem presents a unique challenge regarding accessibility for users and businesses. One of the core strengths of Polkadot, its interoperability framework enabling multiple blockchains to coexist, also introduces a significant hurdle – fragmentation. As Polkadot comprises various interconnected blockchains, each with its own set of assets, navigating this multi-chain environment can be complex and burdensome.

More importantly, there are not that many popular onramp/offramp solutions that we are aware of that enable users to onramp directly to the Polkadot’s Asset Hub. 

3. Proposal objectives and solutions

Objectives:

Seamless Integration: create a compliant onramp / offramp solution that seamlessly integrates with Polkadot, providing a user-friendly experience for retail users to buy/sell assets deployed on the Asset Hub and thus encouraging broader adoption of the Polkadot.

Enhance Accessibility: simplify access to the Polkadot ecosystem for retail users via deploying a dedicated front-end on exmo.com (e.g. exmo.com/polka) to expose 40k+ of monthly visitors of exmo.com to ability to learn about the Polkadot ecosystem and use it.

Solutions:

Unified User Interface which enables retail users to onramp fiat and receive stablecoins on the Polkadot Asset Hub. And offramp stablecoins from Polkadot Asset Hub to their bank accounts or debit/credit cards. 

Merchant Acquiring Solution that seamlessly integrates with Polkadot, providing a user-friendly experience for merchants to accept payments with the assets deployed on the Asset Hub and offramp them to fiat if needed. 

Educational Resources: develop educational resources (on exmo.study) and support materials to guide retail users through the onboarding process. These resources should highlight the benefits of using different Polkadot chains for trading and yield farming.

Who does this solution help?

Retail users.

Onramp / offramp solution will make it easier for retail users to interact with the Polkadot ecosystem. By seamlessly connecting users with traditional financial services and providing a secure exit, our solution fills a critical need by bridging the gap between Polkadot and the broader blockchain landscape.

Developers.

The next step of this grant proposal is to create an acquiring solution that makes it easier for merchants to accept payments in cryptocurrencies, including DOT tokens and stablecoins. This increased acceptance can drive adoption of the Polkadot blockchain, as more businesses find it convenient to transact with DOT and other assets within the ecosystem. Merchants accepting DOT may also choose to hold and use DOT for other purposes within the Polkadot ecosystem, such as staking, participating in governance, or accessing decentralized applications (dApps). This could enhance the overall liquidity of DOT.

Community.

As more retail users and merchants accept DOT and other tokens within the Polkadot ecosystem, it can foster a sense of community engagement. This could lead to more active participation in Polkadot's governance and decision-making processes by businesses and merchants, strengthening the network's decentralized nature.

Have you seen similar solutions before?

We see a global trend of DeFi protocols & blockchains integrating with offramp solutions. This strategy aligns with the industry trend of enhancing accessibility and usability for cryptocurrency users by providing seamless on-ramps and off-ramps between traditional financial services and decentralized blockchain networks. This approach allows users to easily exchange and use digital assets within the blockchain ecosystem, contributing to the broader adoption of blockchain technologies.

**Milestones: **link to the table with the milestones.

**Timeline: **link to the timeline.

**Success metrics: **link to the success metrics.

4. Payment conditions

Requests

Total requested amount – 55 253 DOT, paid in 2 installments: 

• 27626.5 DOT upon completion of the retail-facing solution

• 27626.5 DOT upon completion of the merchant-facing solution

Developments

Each milestone represents an installment, the due dates are subject to negotiations after the terms of reference document is finalized.

Submissions

We can only participate if the entire treasury offer is a single proposal. Reports will be made after each milestone is completed

Targets

All targets are attached in the appendix. We can allocate a certain percentage of the installments to be on hold until the target is reached.

Accounts

We'll create a multisig account for this proposal.

5. Why Polkadot

Polkadot's ability to attract and retain a substantial number of full-time monthly developers demonstrates the platform's appeal and the active engagement of its developer members. We hope that in the long-term this leads to quicker innovation, efficient problem-solving, and a continuous influx of fresh ideas.

Another reason to approach Polkadot is Gavin Wood who holds a unique position in the blockchain landscape as a co-founder of Ethereum. His visionary leadership and pivotal role in shaping Ethereum's success underline his expertise and innovative mindset. It’s an exciting opportunity of being part of an ecosystem led by an industry trailblazer, ensuring cutting-edge development and a reputable foundation.

In addition, Polkadot's collaborative governance model offers a unique chance to actively shape the future of finance in the ecosystem, and its seamless asset transfer and data sharing capabilities can significantly increase efficiency and scale, making it the perfect platform for projects like ours.

And one of the standout features of the Polkadot ecosystem is its unparalleled focus on interoperability and cross-chain communication. As I know Polkadot's architecture is designed to enable different blockchains to connect and interact, allowing applications to seamlessly collaborate with other projects within the ecosystem. This unique capability allows project's as our not only expands the potential user base but also opens doors to innovative partnerships and collaborations, ultimately enhancing its utility and impact.