Wind.app, the latest brainchild of Hussain Elius, the visionary behind Pathao, has just secured $3.8 million in a seed funding round, led by Global Founders Capital and Spartan Group, with notable investments from names like Saison Capital, Alumni Ventures and Tiny VC.
Wind.app: This is not just a cryptocurrency self-custody wallet
Rather, it is a platform determined to simplify access to decentralized finance (DeFi). Elius’ vision is clear: overcome the barriers that exclude those without technical cryptocurrency experience.
“If it takes someone like me, with a technological background, seven to ten days to understand concepts like MetaMask, gas fees, private keys and mnemonics, I realized that cryptocurrencies are still the exclusive territory of nerds,”
Elius said.
With this in mind, Wind.app has been designed to be accessible even to those with minimal knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The registration process is as simple as using an email or phone number, eliminating the complexity associated with public and private keys.
Wind.app offers three key features: facilitating global payments for businesses, being a virtual bank account for individuals, and providing an efficient infrastructure to exchange cryptocurrencies for fiat currency and vice versa.
At the moment, it is aimed at freelancers and remote workers in Southeast Asia, available in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh, but with plans to expand to more countries. Additionally, since launching just a few months ago, the platform has already processed more than $3 million in annualized gross transaction volume.
Direct competition from Wise and Payoneer
In the words of Elius, they do not intend to compete with Coinbase or Binance, since these platforms focus on cryptocurrency trading, while Wind.app focuses on competing with Wise and Payoneer, since it uses blockchain for settlement, which is translates into lower rates.
The startup has created its own input and output platform for fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, reducing costs and offering other companies an efficient and profitable solution.
Future expansion
As mentioned above, Wind.app has users around the world but starting its operations in Southeast Asia, starting in the Philippines, a market with high demand for remittances and growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
“I’ve been to the Philippines on several occasions, and surprisingly, some of the tuk-tuk drivers already own cryptocurrencies. It’s a market that combines the need for remittances with a growing interest in cryptocurrencies, making it an ideal starting point “. Elius commented.
With the newly raised $3.8 million, Wind.app plans to direct funds toward technology development, licensing acquisition, compliance, and its customer acquisition strategy, both enterprises and individuals.