Airswift CEO: Crypto Future Is Decentralization With Regulated Infrastructure

Regulated decentralized systems will be key to an improved outlook for the cryptocurrency industry, Airswift CEO Dr. Yan Zhang writes in the new PYMNTS eBook, “2023 Payments New Year’s Resolutions.”

The cryptocurrency industry, which is resilient and undergoing a self-healing process, will enjoy a much better outlook in 2023 compared to 2022.

The short history of crypto has repeatedly proven the failure of unregulated and centralized financial systems, and the success of truly decentralized ones. The collapse of FTX is just another example. The ultimate success of this industry shall come from the seamless integration of regulated FinTech infrastructure with decentralized systems. One use case made possible by this integration is regulated stablecoins (like USDC) trading on decentralized exchanges.

A fully computerized and decentralized system like bitcoin/Uniswap has not failed because this model rules out human greed, arrogance and operational errors. The decentralized exchange now handles 10% of the spot trading volume, while it was nearly zero three years ago. Decentralization has surged to the forefront of the payment domain due to vital technological advancements — and everyone is waiting for another technological breakthrough in 2023.

Airswift will lead the initiative to develop decentralized payment solutions in 2023. Currently, most crypto payment gateways are centralized, which exposes users to the same risks that FTX did. It is therefore critical to develop a decentralized payment protocol and integrate it with regulated payment service providers and money service operators. Airswift offers the first product of this kind, and we hope it can benefit the general public via cheaper, faster, and safer domestic and cross-border payment solutions.

Aside from decentralization, Airswift will also focus on reducing the frictions associated with crypto payments and enhancing user experiences. This is crucial because ultimately you need to provide a service that people can use with ease. That is achieved by offering a simplified payment process which feels natural even to users with minimal technical knowledge; by diversifying accepted cryptocurrencies; and by providing an integrated DeFi service that ensures smooth transactions from beginning to end.

2023 will be the year of rebuilding. We may see more innovations; more high-quality projects will pick up the growth curve. Specifically, crypto’s integration with real lives — the so-called Web5 — will drive growth. Crypto payments, NFT utilities and Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) are the new hotspots.

Regulated but supportive financial infrastructure is necessary for the success of crypto. Regulators are currently struggling because the speed of policymaking is much slower than that of innovation. This will still be the case in the next five years, which means the crypto ride will be continuously wild. However, that is the excitement everyone is looking for: revolution driven by technologies that create a better future.