Welcome to the Embr Labs Quarter 4 Recap and Overview! This quarter was nothing short of our most important one yet. Across our multilateral efforts, we hit significant milestones, challenged ourselves, overcame adversity, and came out in better shape than ever.

Our ultimate goal is to unleash the power of Interchain payments on the world, and every step we take furthers that goal into becoming reality. Without further ado, let’s dive into a recap and overview of Quarter 4.

Highlights:

• SmartSwap API for Ramp Service Providers

• Compliance and Regulatory Considerations

• Team Expansion

• Business Development

• Joining the Glo Consortium

• Rain Cards

• Community Events

• End-of-Year Livestream

SmartSwap API for Ramp Service Providers

We spent 2023 diligently planning and constructing the SmartSwap API, an interchain payment platform built on top of our proprietary Mattr One Protocol, poised to redefine how people use cryptocurrency. In addition to the interchain functionality the API promises, the API also holds great promise for Ramp Service Providers (RSPs) such as Unlimit. Our API promises industry-shaking benefits to both the RSPs themselves and to end-users buying crypto from these RSPs.

Quarter 4 of 2023 was heavily focused on this specific vertical, RSPs, due to their high volume and relative ease of integration as we continue to build out the payment system as a whole. Let’s dive into it:

For RSPs

RSPs can leverage the SmartSwap API to supercharge their offerings in ways previously thought impossible. RSPs, at this moment in time, have to source liquidity and digital assets from liquidity providers (LPs) such as ZeroHash, who sell liquidity they purchase in bulk from centralized exchanges to RSPs at a premium. This leads to heightened fees for everyone (especially end-users), general inefficiencies, and unpredictability in the user experience of someone purchasing crypto.

What if RSPs could integrate a single API that allows them to circumvent this current friction-filled process for all involved? That is what the SmartSwap API offers. Instead of RSPs needing to buy liquidity from LPs with limited selection and fee premiums, they can source liquidity from the Mattr One Protocol’s USDC-powered Anchrs — essentially an interchain liquidity layer. This simple ability to tap into Mattr One’s liquidity means RSPs can say goodbye to liquidity providers altogether, lowering business costs and end-user fees.

The best part? The RSPs would gain access to an innovative dashboard that allows them to manage their service offerings in one place. The dashboard allows RSPs to view whitelisted assets, select which they want to enable through their ramp and request unavailable assets be assessed for risk and whitelisted. As opposed to a few dozen assets available through LPs, RSPs leveraging our API gain access to thousands of risk-assessed, whitelisted assets that they can enable in a literal second.

For End-Users

RSPs are not the only ones who stand to benefit from the API! Do you recall the last time you purchased a crypto from a service like Moonpay or similar? You probably had to already have a decent knowledge of noncustodial wallets, how native coins and gas work, and how to swap for the token you actually want. That doesn’t even include the fact that ramps tend to be a bit unpredictable with when the coins actually drop into your wallet. On a good day it can take a few minutes, but during some periods, it can take hours to days.

What if purchasing a token from a ramp was a one-click process where you get the exact token you want without having to deal with native coins, gas, or complex noncustodial wallet setups? What if purchasing a token from an RSP only (reliably) took a few seconds for the tokens to drop into your wallet? No swaps, no gas, no native coins. That’s the end-user experience that RSPs can offer to their end-users if they integrate our API. It almost makes buying tokens in DeFi as easy as buying something online from your favorite retailer.

Q4 of 2023 was focused on this specific use case and finalizing all considerations to get to the point where we can offer such a service to RSPs, and through RSPs, to DeFi enthusiasts worldwide.

Compliance and Regulatory Considerations

As with any kind of payment service provider, it is necessary to seriously consider compliance in the context of where regulations are headed. Crypto still operates on a patchwork of regulatory frameworks worldwide, with some major markets still seeped in a lack of clear regulatory guidelines, placing the onus on us, as an organization, to be proactive in doing what we can to champion compliance in a way that will likely hold up in the future.

In Quarter 4, we’ve placed an emphasis on clarifying the regulatory requirements of what we’re doing with the SmartSwap API. This effort includes but is not limited to, identifying necessary licenses and acquiring them, and updating legal agreements for the use of the API. As we speak, we are preparing to acquire a BitLicense from the state of New York in the United States, which would give Embr Labs a respectable amount of clout concerning regulatory compliance that stretches far beyond the geographic borders of New York state.

Expansion of the Team

We are constantly on the lookout for qualified candidates to fill key positions within the Embr Labs organization, especially as our effort grows and requires more top-tier talent. This quarter, we’ve brought on Van, an immensely talented full-stack engineer with the specific toolsets needed to help accelerate our progress toward getting the API and dashboard into production. With hires made in the previous couple of quarters, our operation is growing more and more capable with each quarter.

We’re extremely excited about having Van with us, and we already see the benefit of the energy and expertise he brings to the table.

Business Development

As we continue our business-to-business outreach efforts, building a network of collaborators, partners, and potential clients is monumentally important. This web of stakeholders we’re forming will be the basis for the payment network we envision. For a full calendar year, we’ve emphasized business development — Q4 was no different. From RSPs to DEXes, to marketplaces, to launchpads, we’ve cast a wide net to test the waters before we actively dive into new verticals.

As we had identified the ramp sector within crypto as our first point of disruption, we’ve emphasized networking towards ramp providers and entities adjacent to that vertical to accelerate our efforts in bringing the API to market. In addition to ramps, we’ve continued to emphasize getting our feet in the doors with potential collaborators, stakeholders, and organizations in the space that will help us achieve our ultimate goal of unleashing the power of interchain payments on the world.

Joining the Glo Consortium

Back in November, Embr Labs joined the Glo Consortium, an initiative steered by the Glo Foundation to employ the Glo Dollar (USDGLO), a unique philanthropic stablecoin, to facilitate a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to individuals in impoverished regions. This initiative stands as a direct response to extreme poverty, aiming to provide sustainable relief to communities in dire need.

At Embr Labs, our mission revolves around building the payment infrastructure for the next generation of the Internet, and as a technology-driven entity, we recognize the power and responsibility we have to contribute to broader societal endeavors. Joining the Glo Consortium represents a significant intersection where our technological expertise can aid in Glo’s noble mission to eradicate extreme poverty.

As a part of this effort, we provided a unique alpha production version of our SmartSwap API to allow USDGLO to be purchased via credit and debit cards in one step, without the gas and native-coin considerations. This marked the first production version of the SmartSwap API, and more broadly, a major milestone in our effort to bring the SmartSwap API to the market in a way that also contributes to a worthy cause.

Rain Cards

Shortly after we joined the Glo Consortium, we reached out to Glo about how Rain and the Glo Foundation could collaborate in a win-win fashion. Rain is a Web3 spend management platform that enables seamless interoperability between digital assets and the fiat systems crucial for everyday operations while running a Web3 business.

Web3 teams, such as ourselves, Glo, and Rain, often face challenges accessing traditional banking services, with many common business expenses still requiring fiat currency. Rain’s spend management platform excels in this area, providing instant, fee-free options to access fiat from crypto, removing the barriers to essential services, and minimizing regulatory risks associated with crypto transactions.

Through Rain’s platform, web3 teams can post collateral in stablecoin and Rain will credit them in fiat to gain access to fiat without the usual downsides associated with off-ramping massive amounts of crypto for Web3 business operations. Along this thread, we suggested to Rain that they could accept USDGLO, incentivizing people to contribute to Glo’s mission by posting collateral in their stablecoin.

As customers of Rain and as a part of the Glo Consortium, we took the first step and did just this. Embr Labs now uses the Glo Dollar as collateral to use Rain’s spend management services, a passive way of contributing to Glo’s efforts while encouraging other Web3 businesses to do the same.

Community Events

Quarter 4 was a lively one, filled to the brim with community events. We hosted Mega Spotlight events, spoke at AMAs in respected lounges, and engaged our community throughout the quarter. In our unique position with a product such as Checkout and with the SmartSwap API on the horizon, it allows us to engage with multiple communities and speak on our offerings/roadmap in other lounges in a way that isn’t predatory or distasteful.

Over the course of Quarter 4, we hosted two MegaSpotlights — events where we bring a dozen or so projects to pitch their projects to the audience and partake in games to win prizes — featuring high-profile guests such as FEG, Quick Intel AI, Bob, and more. We expect to do plenty more of these Mega Spotlights in the future to keep an eye out!

We were also invited to speak in two sizable lounges, one in the DeFi Dojo, and another one in the Blue Chip Hub. In these AMAs, we discuss the Embr Labs story and our direction at length, from our humble beginnings to our grand ambitions for 2024 and beyond.

You can find most of our speaking engagements from Q4 on our newly revamped YouTube page.

2023 Holiday Get-Together Livestream

To end the year, several Embr Labs team members, including our newest member Van, joined in on the Holiday Get-Together livestream to reflect on the 2023 year and look ahead to 2024.

In this live stream, we dive into the efforts made throughout 2023 to realize our ultimate goals of building and releasing an interchain payment system that can disrupt how people use and engage with crypto — without the usual painstaking gas, chain, or wallet considerations.

There are some juicy gems of information in there about where we’re heading this year and what we’re doing to make 2024 the best year yet for Embr. We highly encourage everyone to watch the recording here.

Wrapping Up

Quarter 4 of 2023 was an enormous step forward for Embr Labs across all fronts. We hit major milestones, exceeded our expectations in preparations for 2024, and set ourselves up for an exciting year ahead. But more than anything, we’d like to thank you for reading this and for your support and patience as we continue working toward doing something truly unprecedented within the crypto space. Buckle up, because 2024 is going to be another exciting one!

If you aren’t already, be sure to give us a follow on X (Twitter)! 🐦

Disclaimer: Embr is not a licensed financial advisor. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial advice. We advise consulting with a licensed professional before making any investment decisions. The views expressed here are the author’s own and should not be taken as a basis for investment.