Celsius Network, a decentralized credit lending platform, is partnering with MicroMoney.io, a mobile app with a similar business model. The partnership will hope to expand the reach of cryptocurrency backed loans to customers worldwide. Since both firms’ platforms use the global Ethereum blockchain technology, the partnership will also endeavor to jointly develop and standardize the protocols and user interface on top of which these monetary transactions are processed on the blockchain open-ledger system.
The MicroMoney.io app currently extends credit to over 100,000 people in five Asian countries: Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The firm seeks to use Celsius to extend higher limits to its best customers and better serve those who are underserved by the banking industry in the developing world and hopes to expand globally. MicroMoney.io is in the midst of distributing its tokens, looking to raise between $15-$30 million and add 25 million customers to its user base.
The NYC-based, Celsius Network similarly plans to manage and extend consumer loans through a peer-to-peer network. Like MicroMoney, Celsius hopes to serve the underbanked population with a focus on young adults who have limited or no credit histories. The product is slated to launch next year after token distribution. Celsius recently published its open-lending and credit protocols which are now available for adoption by all other lending organizations. Celsius just launched its pre-sale and plans a token generation event in January.
Describing peer-to-peer loans and the innovation in the consumer credit space, Celsius Network CEO, Alex Mashinsky, has been quoted as saying:
“No one has done this before on the blockchain. We completely reinvent how you apply for a credit limit, get issued a credit score and get access to a credit line or a credit card., We created a membership organization which changes how you do things and who benefits.”
The MicroMoney executive team is led by Anton Dzyatkovskiy and consists of a diverse team of individuals spanning the globe. Celsius Network is helmed by serial entrepreneur, Alex Mashinsky founder of Transit Wireless and Arbinet – two of New York’s top startups in the past two decades.