Explained by the Head of Crypto as a Service Benedikt Goetz.

Cryptocurrencies and their derivatives, such as NFTs, blockchain games, Metaverse, and others, are inevitably becoming the norm. More and more people realise that digital currencies are not just a temporary hype but a full-fledged technology.

Just take a look at the facts and numbers.

In 2021, total crypto market capitalisation reached a record-breaking $3 trillion. Year-to-date, Bitcoin miners have generated a total of $15.3 billion in revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of 206%. Besides, Bitcoin became a legal tender in El Salvador, India announced its own CBDC, and now, the European Central Bank is also considering it.

Global enterprises and banks are adding crypto to their balance sheets, and private investment into the industry – not just the assets themselves – is increasing exponentially. It’s about time we foster what this tech has to offer.

Crypto as a Service: Introduction

Considering that asset managers hold approximately £6.6 trillion in the UK alone and the total value of listed companies equals a staggering $93 trillion, the potential to sell crypto services to the traditional institutions is tremendous.

Mercuryo designed Crypto as a Service (CaaS) as an easy plug and play solution for businesses looking to offer cryptocurrency services to their users. It is fully white-label, meaning that customers will not interact with Mercuryo but directly with the service they initially signed up for. The solution will allow any bank, fintech, or financial service provider to offer crypto products through Mercuryo’s infrastructure.

CaaS allows business customers, say neobanks, to generate new revenue streams by plugging into Mercuryo and providing an easy way for their end-users to manage crypto funds. The end-users will be able to:

Buy and sell crypto via their trusted brand
Pay for goods and services using their wallet
Securely store digital assets

As for the platforms, they will also receive a very safe and compliant transaction monitoring and risk management system.

Accessing CaaS

Simplicity is one of the main ideas behind CaaS, so we aim for single API integration with a minimum amount of coding. Currently, we’re working on a sandbox environment to test the product before fully committing and going live

CaaS will not provide the frond-end, but back-end only. As a result, the user interface will be developed and hosted by the business customers themselves. On top of that, Mercuryo will act as a one-stop shop taking care of various aspects, including KYC/AML, transaction monitoring, order processing, matching, and custody. We also give our customers access to leading crypto exchanges and payment services.

Who Needs Mercuryo CaaS?

With CaaS, regulated banks and fintech businesses can enable their users to invest, hold, trade, and pay in crypto. The solution will allow pension funds and asset managers to invest in crypto on behalf of their clients .

Remittance companies will start sending cross-border payments at a fraction of the cost. Gaming studios, e-merchants, as well as brands and other businesses, can begin opening digital wallets for their clients to transact in crypto.

Mercuryo believes that any business that wants to innovate their payments system or enter the global market but lacks the tools to do so will benefit from integrating Crypto as a Service.

Bypassing Obstacles

Some of the typical objections to the mainstream use of crypto are its unsustainability and shady reputation. However, neither of these statements are based on facts, and we’ve previously addressed the topic. A fragmented approach to regulation, on the other hand, is a real-life issue. Luckily, the risks associated with crypto’s shaky position are solvable.

‘One of the initiatives that Mercuryo intends to pick up is the launch of a training platform for both business partners and their end-users,’ – says Benedikt Goetz, Head of Crypto as a Service. ‘The goal of this learning portal is to educate people who don’t interact with crypto daily, thus, have little to no knowledge of how it works. We will shed light on the cryptopowered products and services designed at Mercuryo and explain why it is safe to use them.’

As elaborated earlier, cryptocurrency is here to stay. At Mercuryo, we believe that busting the myths surrounding the industry and building a solid knowledge base is one of the unspoken responsibilities of crypto businesses.

The Bottom Line

Crypto as a Service is one of the few solutions built in Mercuryo’s cryptopowered toolbox that is meant to become a safe and convenient platform advancing any business, be it a well-known bank or aspiring e-merchant. Judging by the popular demand and lack of similar working solutions, the potential for this product is immense. We realise the challenges of introducing something so very new to the market that is not fully regulated yet, but we’re ready to tackle it.