API3 is pleased to announce the Bitcoin Alliance, an alliance with Banco Hipotecario, TESOBE (The company behind the Open Bank Project), Qredo and Sovryn to support El Salvador’s recent adoption of bitcoin and crypto-friendly financial services.
In April 2021 API3 and Open Bank Project teamed up for a decade-long blockchain venture, with Airnode enabling banks to send data directly to blockchain networks. Potential use cases for open banking data on blockchains include solutions like secure and decentralised databases for data verification between banks and authorised third parties, the bridging of open banking data to blockchain-native systems like DeFi and self-sovereign identities, as well as data marketplaces and data unions enabling banking customers to monetise their private financial data.
Meanwhile, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law entered into force on Sept 7th, seeing the nation-state officially adopting Bitcoin as legal tender.
In a nutshell, this regulatory shift enables Salvadorans to purchase goods and pay taxes with Bitcoin, using the lightning network for instant settlement and low fees. Meanwhile, financial institutions in the region were faced with the operational challenges of accepting Bitcoin as legal tender at scale.
While working with Banco Hipotecario to help them react to these regulatory shifts, the Bitcoin Alliance was formed to support El Salvador’s transition into accepting Bitcoin as legal tender — welcoming Sovryn’s Bitcoin-based Decentralized Finance platform & Qredo’s Lightning Network-compatible custodial infrastructure.
All this of course in collaboration with OBP’s APIs that will be brought on-chain by API3’s first-party oracle solution, Airnode.
The Bitcoin Alliance, El Salvador
The project will see the parties working in close collaboration with Banco Hipotecario, a national bank of El Salvador, with an aim to accelerate the democratization of Bitcoin electronic payments and help Salvadorans enjoy the benefits of digital and decentralized financial services.
“This alliance is a great opportunity for El Salvador to create new financial products that support the needs of our Salvadoran citizens,” says Celina Padilla, president of Bank Hipotecario de El Salvador. “We are closer than ever to achieving true financial inclusion and I am proud that Banco Hipotecario is the first bank at the national level to carry out this type of alliance. Now everyone has their eyes on our country and on our bank.”
“API3 is incredibly excited to announce this alliance and we can’t wait to see the synergies between these leading technologies in action. As the world’s financial system is modernized, we will help build a foundation for the future of digital banking that can easily be adapted to fit the needs of those who will benefit from it most.” says Heikki Vänttinen, Co-Founder at API3.
“We are super excited and grateful for the opportunity to assemble this advanced Crypto Banking infrastructure, which will act as the foundation for a new breed of financial services in El Salvador,” says Simon Redfern, CEO of TESOBE and founder of the Open Bank Project. “Our combined technologies will help Banco Hipotecario deliver more transparent and inclusive financial services to Salvadorans — especially the underbanked part of the population — and will remove many of the uncertainties that stand between El Salvador and the advantages of cryptocurrency adoption.”
“We are glad to get in at the ground zero of global bitcoinization,” says Anthony Foy, Qredo CEO. “Qredo brings the scalability and instant settlement to underpin bitcoin banking infrastructure, making it possible to adopt crypto assets securely on a national scale, with none of the governance limitations imposed by private keys.”
Edan Yago, core contributor at Sovryn, comments, “With its adoption of Bitcoin, El Salvador has chosen to rewrite the script of its national finance system and to blaze a trail for other nations to follow. DeFi is now coming to the world and Sovryn is playing a crucial part in these early practical steps towards making Bitcoin adoption a reality in El Salvador and beyond.”
About Banco Hipotecario de El Salvador
Banco Hipotecario de El Salvador, a national bank with a commercial focus, offers a wide range of banking products and services such as consumer and corporate loans, savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and related financial services to individuals, small- and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations.
Banco Hipotecario de El Salvador, a national bank with a commercial focus, offers a wide range of banking products and services such as consumer and corporate loans, savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and related financial services to individuals, small- and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations.
About the Open Bank Project
Led by Berlin-based software company TESOBE GmbH, the Open Bank Project is the leading API Management platform for banks that want to ensure a rapid and secure enhancement of their digital offerings. The Open Bank Project assists banks in deploying Open Banking platforms by providing access to over 450 standardised APIs, used by our vibrant global community of over 11,000 developers.
Led by Berlin-based software company TESOBE GmbH, the Open Bank Project is the leading API Management platform for banks that want to ensure a rapid and secure enhancement of their digital offerings. The Open Bank Project assists banks in deploying Open Banking platforms by providing access to over 450 standardised APIs, used by our vibrant global community of over 11,000 developers.
About API3
The API3 Foundation is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) leading the movement from legacy third-party oracle networks to first-party oracle solutions that deliver more security, efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Powered by Airnode first-party oracles, API3’s Decentralized APIs (dAPIs) are decentrally controlled and blockchain-native data feeds with quantifiable security.
The API3 Foundation is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) leading the movement from legacy third-party oracle networks to first-party oracle solutions that deliver more security, efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Powered by Airnode first-party oracles, API3’s Decentralized APIs (dAPIs) are decentrally controlled and blockchain-native data feeds with quantifiable security.
About Qredo
Qredo is a decentralized digital asset management infrastructure and product suite designed to unlock new opportunities for institutional investors in digital assets and decentralized finance. Qredo’s Layer 2 blockchain protocol enables users to seamlessly transfer and settle BTC, ETH, and ERC-20 tokens. Assets are secured by Qredo’s advanced Gen 2.0 multi-party computation (MPC), which provides tier-1 bank security and institutional-grade governance.
Qredo is a decentralized digital asset management infrastructure and product suite designed to unlock new opportunities for institutional investors in digital assets and decentralized finance. Qredo’s Layer 2 blockchain protocol enables users to seamlessly transfer and settle BTC, ETH, and ERC-20 tokens. Assets are secured by Qredo’s advanced Gen 2.0 multi-party computation (MPC), which provides tier-1 bank security and institutional-grade governance.
About Sovryn
Sovryn is a Bitcoin-native financial operating system that allows people to utilize their Bitcoin in decentralised applications. The Sovryn protocol provides an infrastructure using layer-2 technologies for the next generation of DeFi. For more details about the Sovryn tech stack, its use cases, and the SOV token see the Sovryn Black Paper.
Sovryn is a Bitcoin-native financial operating system that allows people to utilize their Bitcoin in decentralised applications. The Sovryn protocol provides an infrastructure using layer-2 technologies for the next generation of DeFi. For more details about the Sovryn tech stack, its use cases, and the SOV token see the Sovryn Black Paper.
Previously published here.