With millions of businesses currently operating in the physical universe, the arrival of Web 3.0 and the metaverse is expected to bring a new era of financial infrastructure as merchants look for ways to engage and benefit from accepting cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the new virtual world.
One company that is at the forefront of this shift is Airswift, a Vancouver, Canada-based fintech startup that is building a comprehensive payment infrastructure native to Web 3.0 that allows businesses to expand their digital currency acceptance, and lets digital asset holders make frictionless purchases.
Airswift raised $2 million in pre-seed funding led by CE Innovation Capital CEiC and other leading industry investors. The funding comes amid a bear market sentiment and uncertainty surroundingcryptocurrencies. The funding shows investors' confidence in Airswift's unique model and optimism about the future of payment solutions that power the use of digital assets.
Airswift was founded in 2022 by co-founder and CEO Dr. Yan Zhang, and has pioneered cryptocurrencies payment solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. The startup provides a web 3.0 native omnichannel payment gateway, prepaid cards, and on-off ramp services that connect businesses with consumers. Airswift is recognized as a leader in the field ofBlockchain, with extensive experience in global digital payments and enterprise Web 3.0 financial infrastructure.
Airswift is building a complete payment infrastructure that is native to Web 3.0, with the help of the technology of the digital ledger. This includes an easy-to-use on-chain payment gateway that allows merchants to accept both digital assets and fiat currency, enabling frictionless purchases with digital assets. The raise from CEiC shows that investors are confident in our strengths in payment gateway operations and regulatory compliance, among other things, said Dr. Yan Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Airswift. There is a challenge associated with enabling criptocurrency payments with both technical areas and fund aggregation. Airswift is committed to solving these issues with a decentralized payment gateway that protects user privacy and supports a liquidity pool model powered by the technology ofBlockchain. CEiC believes that the use ofBlockchain-enabled payment solutions is a fundamental technological innovation that could create a paradigm shift in the financial services industry worldwide. The market is in its infancy, with a lot of potential for growth, according to the investor.
In 2021, the global volume of payments reached $15 -- 16 bn USD, presenting only a small portion of the global digital payment volume of $7.5 trillion USD. The investor is in favor of Airswift's unique advantages in its established and forward-looking CeFi and DeFi solutions and its team's rich experience, business acumen and prudent regulatory mindset towards payments and blockchain industries. CEiC is excited to partner with Airswift to create new payment solutions that could disrupt the trillion-dollar global digital payment market.
With more than fifty patents related to the technology, Dr. Zhang and his team bring comprehensive expertise in blockchain R&D, as well as a long history of experience in the industry. Airswift has strong regulatory endorsements in North America, SEA, and EMEA, as well as strong background in payment gateway operations.