Cointelegraph Accelerator13 hours agoWeb3’s Swiss Army knife of personal finance Changex joins Cointelegraph AcceleratorChangex combines crypto trading and lending with traditional banking features that also include an upcoming Visa debit card.1047 Total views26 Total sharesListen to article 0:00СT AcceleratorJoin us on social networksDecentralized finance (DeFi) gave birth to a wide range of financial services that aim to challenge what traditional finance (TradFi) offers. However, the user experience persists as a major issue hindering the widespread adoption of DeFi apps and solutions. For years, the DeFi ecosystem has been seeking an entry point that can onboard the next wave of users to decentralized apps.

One potential solution is a financial technology (fintech) app that’s catered toward TradFi users and also offers easy-to-use DeFi functionality. This way, users can realize that self-custody, a practice that enables safeguarding digital assets in personal wallets without the help of a third party, can be a way forward and start ditching centralized intermediaries like banks.

While users’ quest to take full responsibility for storing and managing crypto assets picked up the pace with self-custody, the Web3 space created new services to let people swap, spend and earn crypto that utilizes both CeFi and DeFi aspects to help the migration process.

Envisioning a demand and emergence of new sophisticated decentralized financial apps, Changex, an all-in-one mobile wallet, employs a CeDeFi model, combining centralized and decentralized finance in a single screen in a bid to attract users coming from traditional services with a familiar environment.DeFi meets CeFi

The Changex app offers a crypto trading exchange in a non-custodial environment, leaving the keys to crypto assets with users. Users can buy, sell or transfer crypto on the platform, which also supports buying crypto with debit cards and bank transfers. The exchange supports multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon and Binance Smart Chain.

DeFi users can take advantage of the most common alternative finance practices, including staking, with lending and stablecoin interests coming later this year, all from within the same app. Changex also gives additional APR on staking rewards with the platform’s native token, CHANGE.

The upcoming Changex Visa Debit Card will give cashback for shopping. Source: Changex

Changex app is also working on issuing European Union-regulated IBANs to users for managing fiat assets, opening the door for cross-border transactions across the EU and bridging the gap between the crypto world and traditional financial systems. Scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023, the upcoming Changex Visa Debit Card will give cashback bonuses to its owners. Users will also be able to spend their staked assets without impairing APR.Changex joins Cointelegraph Accelerator

Cointelegraph Accelerator picked Changex as a participant for the expertise of its team, which has over 20 members, an office in Bulgaria and a track record of delivering robust financial solutions. The app provides a user-friendly, streamlined experience, efficiently catering to both Web2 and Web3 users. The product also displayed good traction, with an average of 25,000 monthly active users and nearly $3 million worth of staked assets.

Next for Changex is the integration of the Avalanche blockchain. This integration will also bring several Avalanche-based staking pools. What’s more, Changex is working on releasing a unique leveraged staking functionality on the platform in the coming months. Following that, in the fourth quarter of 2023, Changex will roll out its biggest update - the Changex Visa Debit Card and IBAN - which will enable users to claim complete control over their finances and turn Changex into a comprehensive one-stop-shop for crypto and fiat alike.# Blockchain# Cryptocurrencies# Banking# Wallet# Europe# DeFi# Cointelegraph AcceleratorAdd reactionAdd reactionRead moreWho invented NFTs?: A brief history of nonfungible tokensIf Worldcoin can improve the world, why not give it a chance?The story of a crypto influencer’s attempt to bend reality