The crypto-enabled company

We are in the midst of a revolution. For the first time since the start of crypto as an industry, we are witnessing the rise of a technical stack that will make every company a crypto-enabled company.

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Through new and improved technical tools, companies can create incredible new experiences that combine fintech, social interactions, and loyalty, all without users ever knowing they are leveraging crypto rails. Whether it's global contractor payments, cross-app "Venmo-like" platforms, access to previously illiquid assets, social-financial apps and games, ticketing platforms, or physical-digital experiences, there is a myriad of experiences that developers are now able to easily build. Through simple crypto rails, founders can abstract away the financial and identity parts of their stack, focusing instead on customer experience, compliance, and growth.

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In this article, I want to describe a few use cases we are seeing from our vantage point at Dynamic. We see this revolution happen today in the form of new types of startups that deliver magical experiences while abstracting away crypto. We are also seeing seedlings of web2 companies identifying this stack, and starting to think through incorporating crypto elements in their tech stack through these tools. 

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A quick note - the technical tools

Over the past two years, there have been several innovations across multiple tools, a combination of which makes the crypto-enabled stack possible. Those include web3 authentication, embedded wallets, gas-sponsorship, session keys, stablecoins, on-ramps and off-ramps, and fast and efficient chains. In a separate article, we'll dive through the details of how to choose and evaluate each.

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Global payouts

Global payouts are hard for multiple reasons. You have to deal with compliance across countries, have to think through local currencies, and most importantly, have to deal with unstable financial rails and banks. With the crypto-enabled stack, you can now build a full global payout system in weeks instead of years. You can easily spin up non-custodial wallets for individuals, leveraging stablecoins to transfer assets in milliseconds. 

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For some contractors, you can keep the money in USDC, ensuring they aren't impacted by local devaluation of currencies. For others, you can leverage off-ramps or issue credit cards to use those USDC assets for day-to-day activities. 

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Global Venmo

Similar to global payouts, the crypto-enabled stack allows for the rapid development of Venmo-like experiences that transcend geographical boundaries. Companies such as Beam, Daimo, and Utopia are leveraging this infrastructure to create seamless peer-to-peer payment platforms that enable users to send and receive money instantly, regardless of their location. By abstracting away the complexities of cross-border transactions, these startups are revolutionizing the way we think about money and financial inclusivity.

Access to previously illiquid assets

While the above companies leverage the payment side of crypto, others are leveraging its tokenization aspect, bringing assets on chain and making the illiquid, well, liquid. Companies such as Heron Finance, Maple Finance, Fabrica, Jasmine.energy, Ondo Finance, and others are bringing in assets, whether land, energy, treasuries, or financial instruments. The common thing amongst all of them is that customers will not care about it being crypto, only that they now have access to assets they couldn't access before. It creates more liquidity around additional assets that just couldn't previously exist.

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Social-financial apps

The intersection of social media and finance is another area where the crypto-enabled stack is making waves. Bracket.game and Blackbird are two examples of startups that are combining social interactions with financial incentives, creating engaging experiences that blur the lines between entertainment and investing. By leveraging crypto rails, these platforms are able to offer unique features such as fractional ownership, real-time trading, and gamified interfaces that appeal to a new generation of users.

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Special note: Farcaster - A prime example of a crypto-enabled social app

Farcaster is a decentralized social network that perfectly illustrates the power of the crypto-enabled stack. What sets Farcaster apart is its seamless integration of an embedded wallet and the ability to transact in modular settings, all happening behind the scenes. Users can enjoy the benefits of web3, such as financial transactions via Frames, without ever having to directly interact with crypto complexities. This hidden power of web3 allows Farcaster to offer a user experience that is both familiar and revolutionary, showcasing the potential of the crypto-enabled stack in the social media realm.

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Ticketing platforms

The ticketing industry is ripe for disruption, and startups like Tokenproof are leading the charge. By using NFTs as tickets over time (off-chain today), Tokenproof will be able to offer a more secure, transparent, and flexible ticketing solution that benefits both event organizers and attendees. The use of crypto enables features such as secondary market sales, royalty splits, and dynamic pricing, all of which contribute to a more efficient and fair ticketing ecosystem.

Physical-digital experiences

Finally, the crypto-enabled stack enables the creation of hybrid experiences that blend the physical and digital worlds. Companies like Kiki World, Flow, IYK, and Bounce are using crypto to bridge the gap between offline and online interactions, creating immersive experiences that engage users on multiple levels. Whether it's through augmented reality, location-based gaming, member experiences or interactive installations, these startups are pushing the boundaries of what's possible with crypto rails.

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With the rise of the crypto-enabled companies, crypto is moving away from being its own vertical. Rather, it's a set of infrastructure tools, sometimes completely hidden, and at other times visible, that help companies across industries create beautiful, efficient, effective, and creative experiences for their customers. We are thrilled to play a part in this revolution.

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