Blade Labs Expands Hedera’s Reach in India, Brazil, and Mexico with Integration of Regional Payment Providers – Onmeta and C14
Singapore – May 28, 2023 – Blade Labs is excited to announce the integration of two regionally focused payment solution providers to the Blade Wallet app and its white-label products: Onmeta and C14. These solutions enable users in India and Latin America to buy HBAR and ERC20-based tokens quickly, easily, securely, and affordably directly through their Blade Wallet. Developers can also utilize Blade Labs’ white-label solutions, enabling their end-users to purchase HBAR and ERC20-based tokens directly through their own Android, iOS, Web, Unreal Engine, and Unity (coming soon) applications.
India is a global leader in cryptocurrency adoption, ranking 1st out of 26 countries according to Finder’s Crypto Adoption November 2022 Report. The report estimates that 29% of Indians own some form of cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin and Ethereum being the most popular. This shows a strong interest and demand for digital assets among the Indian population, which could have significant implications for the country’s future economic development and innovation.
The adoption of cryptocurrency in India is expected to grow exponentially over the next five years as more people become aware of the benefits and potential of digital assets. According to a report by Chainalysis, India ranks 4th in terms of crypto adoption potential based on factors such as internet penetration, smartphone ownership, financial inclusion, and remittance flows. The report also predicts that India could increase to 190 million crypto users by 2026. This would make India one of the world’s largest and most influential crypto markets, significantly impacting the global economy and society.
A testament to the dedication of Indian enterprises and educational institutions to innovation in DLT and blockchain space is their participation as governing council members for Hedera, an open-source, public network governed by leading organizations worldwide. These three entities – Tata Communications, WIPRO, and IIT Madras – have joined Hedera’s Governing Council to promote the development and use of web3 technology within India and beyond.
Blade Labs believes that one of the critical factors that could drive further adoption of Hedera in India is by reducing the friction and barriers when purchasing and using digital assets. This integration with OnMeta provides the first viable method for users to buy Hedera-based tokens in India.
Onmeta is a platform that leverages the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payment system that enables instant and low-cost transactions across banks and wallets. With Blade Labs’ wallet infrastructure support, the Onmeta platform has become the first to enable UPI-based purchasing of Hedera-based tokens for Indian users. Blade users can purchase HBAR and Ethereum using UPI directly from the wallet or its white-label solutions, such as Blade SDKs. HTS-based tokens and NFT purchasing will also be available soon. Krishna Teja Nemani, founder & CTO at Onmeta, said, “We’re thrilled about our integration with Blade Labs’ products, providing a secure experience for users in India to buy and sell digital assets. We’re committed to bringing the best web3 products to Indian users, and by supporting Hedera, the most sustainable public network, we’re also leading the way towards a sustainable crypto market.”
This is part of Blade’s ongoing efforts to bridge critical markets worldwide with the Hedera network, which offers one of the industry’s most scalable platforms. By furthering the connection between Hedera with India, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic markets, Blade aims to continue creating synergies and opportunities for local crypto communities across the globe and the Hedera ecosystem. Blade recently announced that it had successfully listed HBAR in Japan for the first time, providing the world’s third-largest economy and one of the most highly regulated crypto markets with a compliant method to purchase Hedera-based cryptocurrency.
In parallel, cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America is also on the rise, driven by factors such as high inflation, political instability, and a lack of traditional banking services. Brazil and Mexico are two of the region’s largest and most influential economies, and their crypto markets have shown impressive growth.
According to Chainalysis, Brazil ranked 7th, and Mexico ranked 28th in the global crypto adoption index in 2022. Both countries have seen increased demand for stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies like the US dollar). Stablecoins offer a way to store value and transact in crypto without being exposed to the volatility of other digital assets.
As in India, one of the challenges users face in Latin America is the friction and cost of converting fiat to crypto and vice versa. This is where Blade Lab’s integration with C14, another payment service provider that enables seamless fiat on-ramping, comes in. C14 allows users to access these assets using the most adopted fiat payment methods in their country, such as PIX in Brazil and SPEI in Mexico. PIX and SPEI are instant payment systems that allow users to transfer money between bank accounts 24/7. By leveraging these systems, C14 reduces the time and fees involved in buying and selling crypto. “Our integration with Blade Labs’ products and the Hedera network opens up new opportunities for users to access digital assets using the most adopted fiat payment methods in their country, such as PIX in Brazil and SPEI in Mexico,” stated Erich Grant, the CEO of C14.
Over the next five years, the use of cryptocurrency is expected to increase in India, Brazil, and Mexico as more people look for alternative ways to store and transfer their digital assets. These countries have innovative and dynamic crypto ecosystems, and Blade Labs’ CEO, Sami Mian, plans to expand their localized services and features. “Through its work with these regional service providers,” commented Sami Mian, CEO and Co-Founder of Blade Labs, “Blade is focused on continuing to expand its localized services and features, empowering Blade Labs’ enterprise partners and users to easily engage in web3 activities, and transact with digital assets using region-specific onramp and off ramping methods.”
To experience Blade Wallet’s new and improved PSP options, click here to download the app to your mobile device or Chrome desktop extension (and receive a free Blade Loyalty Card NFT to start your web3 journey).
About Blade Labs
Blade Labs Inc. is the leading wallet infrastructure provider for the Hedera network. Its mission is to enable the next billion users to safely and seamlessly transition between web2 and web3 activities via its frictionless onboarding, simple integrations, and secure payment options from third-party providers.
Its flagship product, Blade Wallet, is an enterprise-grade, self-custody, third-party audited, and security-tested web3 wallet that has seen the most rapid growth on the Hedera platform, with over 400,000 new user accounts created in less than a year. Various white-label solutions are also available so developers can utilize Blade’s wallet infrastructure directly through their Android, iOS, Web, Unreal Engine, and Unity (coming soon) apps.
Another suite of products the Blade Labs team created to further its mission, BladeLink, provides single-click solutions for user onboarding and registration and NFT creation, sale, and distribution.
The team comprises 30 industry professionals located worldwide, covering every key timezone. This allows the unit to operate 24/7 and bring advanced web3 technology to any business, solving real-world issues on a large scale.
To learn more about Blade Labs, please visit www.bladelabs.io.
About Onmeta
Founded in April 2022, Onmeta provides enterprise on and off-ramp solutions (API/widget integration) for India & SEA to web3 companies to help them improve their user experience and accelerate their adoption by mainstream users. It supports local payment methods like UPI and bank transfers in India. It supports 6000+ tokens across 10+ blockchains and processes payments instantly in 60 seconds. Onmeta has raised USD 1.5M in equity funding from Skycatcher Fund, GSF Fund, Luno Expeditions and includes Sequence Wallet, Frontier Wallet, Crazy Defense Heroes & Onerare among the 50+ clients it serves.
Connect with Onmeta on Twitter or LinkedIn, or visit https://onmeta.in for more information.
C14
C14 is building the next-generation fiat <> crypto payment flow. With the C14 widget, users worldwide can easily access digital assets on Hedera and other networks using the most adopted fiat payment methods in their country. The C14 widget can also be embedded on project websites and dApps, enabling users to access digital assets throughout the Hedera ecosystem easily.
C14 currently offers coverage for users in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and European Union. C14 will continue to add coverage for established and emerging markets worldwide by integrating the most adopted fiat payment methods in these regions.
