May 18th, 2021 at 1:00 pm UTC · 3 min read
Current, a leading U.S. financial technology company serving Americans who are working to create a better future for themselves, today announced its partnership with Acala, a decentralized finance platform built on the Polkadot blockchain network. The partnership, the first of its kind, establishes a new category of hybrid finance (HyFi) that combines both traditional and decentralized financial applications.
In order to ensure full trust of these products, Current will run its own infrastructure and join the active validator set on the Polkadot network.
The integration with Acala is built directly into Current Core, Current’s proprietary core banking platform, which is designed to bridge closed-loop fiat systems to open platforms. This will expedite development of HyFi infrastructure designed to deliver value to Current’s nearly three million members.
Trevor Marshall, Current Chief Technology Officer, said:
“We created Current because we could see how money was being re-networked through new technologies. Our initiative with Acala allows us to flex this muscle we have been developing for the past six years.”
Acala is an all-in-one decentralized finance network offering a blockchain platform secured by Polkadot, as well as a suite of cross-chain financial applications that let users trade, issue self-serviced loans, become liquidity providers, access staking derivatives, and earn high-interest APY on their digital assets. The network is optimized for DeFi and well-equipped to serve the growing demand for HyFi applications.
Bette Chen, Co-Founder of Acala, said:
“Current is leading the way at the intersection of modern banking and decentralized finance. The integration between Acala and Current is a groundbreaking innovation, and we are excited to bring cutting-edge financial solutions to Current’s members. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the products we can build to blend traditional fintech and crypto-native products.”
Peter Mauric, Head of Public Affairs at Parity Technologies, the software development company building the initial implementation of Polkadot, added:
“Polkadot was built to enable a decentralized web with native financial infrastructure, and Acala’s integration with Current accelerates that vision. Growing digital economies will rely heavily on initiatives like this, bridging users from a siloed past to our open future.”
We are a leading U.S. financial technology company serving the needs of Americans who are working to create a better future for themselves. Our mission is to enable members to change their lives by creating better financial outcomes. Leveraging the best technology, we deliver inspirational and motivational products as we all move forward in a world of increasing digitization and complexity.
Current is backed by investments from Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Avenir, Sapphire Ventures, Foundation Capital, Wellington Management, QED Investors and EXPA.
Acala is an all-in-one decentralized finance network offering a blockchain platform secured by Polkadot, as well as a suite of cross-chain financial applications that let users trade, issue self-serviced loans, become liquidity providers, access staking derivatives, and earn high-interest APY on their digital assets. The network is scalable, Ethereum-compatible, and optimized for DeFi.
Acala was founded in Oct 2019, and today has received five Web3 Foundation grants, has backing from Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Hypersphere and other top firms, and has a distributed team in New Zealand, China, Europe, Brazil, and the United States.