By
Steve Muchoki
April 18th, 2024
The concept behind OpenDefi is simple. Real assets, such as real estate and gold, can be tokenized to provide fractional ownership to holders.
According to a 2018 report by the World Bank, financial inclusion is improving around the world due to the growth of internet access and smartphones. Despite this growth, 30% of the global adult population still does not have access to a bank account or any kind of financial services. This is particularly challenging in developing countries but also provides an opportunity for companies and institutions to work together to solve this crisis.
Take India for example. In India, nearly 30% of the country’s GDP is derived from small to medium-sized businesses and this number is rapidly growing as India emerges as one of the most promising startup economies in the world. One New Delhi-based company, OpenDefi by Oropocket, saw an opportunity to utilize local knowledge to scale a business that leverages blockchain technology to provide easy financial inclusion to people around the world.
It is important to note that providing financial services in developing countries is not enough. To be truly inclusive, these services must be accessible, reliable, and consistent to create an ecosystem that can mature and eventually become self-sustaining. For OpenDefi, this means leveraging real assets and blockchain technology to create opportunities that are audited, 100% insured, and reliable sources of income generation for users.
Blending the World of DeFi and Hard Assets
The concept behind OpenDefi is simple. Real assets, such as real estate and gold, can be tokenized to provide fractional ownership to holders. This means that people can buy a small portion of a building and reap the benefits that were previously reserved to majority shareholders. These assets, even fractional shares, can then be staked to receive real-time loans (often referred to as flash loans), traded on an open marketplace, or staked for yield generation.
This free-flow of assets is made possible by relying on blockchain technology’s immutable and secure infrastructure. This is the power of DeFi (decentralized finance). Everyone has the right to control their assets and utilize them without having to rely on anyone else. OpenDefi has already launched a proof of concept with gold and silver with various products including an asset-backed credit card, lending, earning yield on assets, and more.
The company plans to open up their asset base to include equity stocks, ESOPs, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, art, energy, oil, and even patents. This means a wide range of assets will be tokenized and made available to users in developing countries, creating countless opportunities for currently underserved populations.
OpenDefi’s Launch Proves Demand for Market
OpenDefi recently went live with their native token (ORO) which saw over $15.4 million in trading volume within the first 24 hours. In October, the company raised $1 million from leading blockchain investors such as MoonRock Capital, TRG Capital, Alphabit, Lotus Capital, AU21, and more. Current partners include a wide array of notable crypto companies such as Matic, Tezos, Dfinance, UniLend, Razor Network and Frontier.
OpenDefi’s Co-Founders Mohit Madan and Tarusha Mittal have built a global team of blockchain and finance professionals that understand the importance of the company’s mission in solving one of the world’s most challenging problems.
Mittal explains:
“We have been lucky to be in a position where we have the experience and partners in place to help launch products and attract users that can genuinely benefit from our product suite. This product-market fit is thanks to the decentralized and open nature of DeFi and the real need for people to get access to more financial opportunities without having to go through loops and high fees.”
“We made sure to build OpenDefi as a fair and transparent platform. All of the assets will be 100% insured and verified. What you see is what you get. No hidden charges or time consuming bureaucracy. The best part is everything is liquid meaning users remain in control of when, how, and where they use their assets,” adds Madan.
As globalism increases, innovative solutions like OpenDeFi will provide the infrastructure needed to create an equal playing field for everyone.