2023-09-14

Telcoin Community Update, Volume 11

Dear Telcoin Community,

Today we are excited to release a new app version and greatly expand the list of digital assets supported by the Telcoin App. It’s a major step forward toward making Telcoin a viable DeFi alternative to centralized exchanges. We are also in the process of upgrading our banking rails in the US, the EU, and in some select receiving-side markets with important remittance corridors soon. Seamless stablecoin rails on both sides of these prominent remittance corridors has been our focus for some time, and we are finally seeing this come into view.

It has been an uphill battle this year to say the least, but we do see the light at the end of the tunnel. A major accomplishment that we have achieved this year has been a complete overhaul of our compliance systems. I am happy to say that we now have the foundational infrastructure in place to satisfy the most stringent requirements of central banks globally — a milestone that, despite its brand recognition, FTX certainly never met. Even though we do not custody customer assets, and cannot unilaterally move or lose assets in customer wallets, we have a compliance system that I believe is now more capable than most centralized exchanges operating today. We’ve been building a compliance system that is both bank-caliber and crypto-modern, with our US bank project in mind, and are looking forward to seeing that finally bear fruit.

A major challenge for Telcoin has always been trying to balance a fiat remittance product with a DeFi crypto trading platform. We’ve been doing this because we believe that we will be able to successfully bring the two worlds together, and the end result will be worth the wait. We know that simply surviving is not enough — we are striving every day to push the ball forward towards a better product as efficiently and responsibly as possible. As we get closer, I’m more excited every day to put forth the effort — actually more excited to get up and start work than any period of my life. It’s a strange feeling at this time when the industry has been so down.

Now that we have a great foundation in place, look out for more exciting releases and upgrades in the coming months. It’s been a long time coming, and as always we greatly appreciate your continued support.

Paul Neuner, Telcoin CEO

Expanded token availability and a fresh new interface in V3.7

New Tokens

At Telcoin, we still firmly believe that our assisted self-custody wallet is the optimal arrangement for consumers; protecting user funds from malfeasance, technical breaches, and the possibility of bankruptcy while offering a safety net in case the device or private key are misplaced or stolen. Moreover, our mission is to be a properly regulated gateway to self-custody and DeFi, which is why we also strive to respect the letter and spirit of the law and maintain a respectful relationship with our regulators.

We recognize that our industry is still evolving, and while legislators and regulators work together to shape the landscape, we are committed to staying on the right side of the law. Hence, in light of recent developments in the regulatory landscape, we have decided to significantly increase asset availability from the current 28 to 110 tokens, with many more anticipated in the future.

We believe that offering this variety of swaps moves us one step closer to becoming the assisted self-custody DeFi wallet of choice: one that will enable our users the full benefit of security combined with the trading capabilities of a centralized crypto exchange.

The current full list of digital assets available on the Telcoin App can be found on our website under the “Digital Assets” tab here, and also within the Markets tab on the updated Telcoin App user interface.

Fresh new UI/UX with Market View

Version 3.7 of the Telcoin App brings several foundational user experience and user interface updates, creating a solid base for our planned future iterations. These improvements include a new app-wide bottom navigation bar, Market View, the ability to flip your wallet’s card to display your Deposit QR code and wallet address, and polished updates throughout both Android and iOS. Version 3.7 begins a phased rollout to Android devices globally starting today, with iOS to follow.

New: Use the bottom navigation bar to quickly navigate between Wallet, Trade (where available), Market View, and your account.
New: Market View displays live price action for all digital assets available in the app. Access Market View from the “Markets” tab in the bottom navigation. Coming soon: save your favorite assets for quick reference.
New: On your wallet screen, tap the button on the top right corner of your card to flip the card, revealing your wallet address and Deposit QR Code. Use this code to easily deposit digital assets to your wallet address.

We’re excited to build upon this new, improved foundation for upcoming Telcoin App releases.

Josh Worley, VP Design

Expanded DeFi order routing

The Telcoin team is always building to provide the best possible user experience. When taking a look at our DeFi token offering, providing greater liquidity and extremely competitive pricing is paramount. With the integration of an additional routing platform, our overall aggregation logic continues to improve, with greater regularity, to take advantage of buying and selling opportunities. We will continue to evaluate and expand our product with pricing and liquidity enhancements, expanded token offerings, and greater aggregation going forward.

In addition to now using multiple DeFi order routers, which ensures that trades go through the best pool available on the best AMM, Telcoin’s assisted self custody setup provides ease of use without compromising security. The objective of our three-key system is to ensure that not only are customer assets not on our balance sheet, but that Telcoin verifiably cannot unilaterally move or lose customer funds. This makes the Telcoin App an excellent alternative to centralized exchanges, with ease of use and peace of mind whether simply storing assets or trading on DeFi.

Digital asset on/off ramps spreading across EU

Over the past couple months, Telcoin has begun rolling out digital asset on/off ramp capabilities for various EU nations. We will complete this multi-phased initiative shortly, leading to more comprehensive EU coverage. Early data shows notable adoption and expansion with our European user base, signaling exciting times ahead as we continue to bring our user-owned fintech products to Telcoin users globally.

Residents of the following countries can currently access USDC deposits and withdrawals via bank account or debit card: France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden.

In addition to USDC, Telcoin is planning to add a Euro stablecoin rail in the near future as the company seeks to extend stablecoin rails in key markets.

Telcoin to sponsor GSMA Kigali in October

The Telcoin commercial team is excited to announce that Telcoin will be sponsoring the upcoming GSMA MWC Kigali conference in October. Members of the team will return to Kigali, Rwanda for the event, which will focus on fintech expansion across the continent. Approximately 2,000 attendees — including many telecom, mobile money, and payments executives, alongside a number of central bank policymakers — are expected to attend. To really drive our message home for those in attendance, Telcoin has secured a physical booth to supercharge marketing efforts and host meetings. Chief Commercial Officer Rajesh Sabari will also be taking the stage alongside African central bank governors and fintech industry executives as we continue to spread awareness of Telcoin products and expand partnerships for the upcoming Telcoin Network launch.

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For those who might have missed it, members of the Telcoin team joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore-hosted Inclusive Fintech Forum in June, which also took place in Kigali. For the commercial team, it was a successful initial foray into the region, and Telcoin was proud to sponsor the event’s VIP speaker dinner for central bankers, investors, and fintech CEOs — which laid the groundwork for expansion into Rwanda and the broader East Africa market. The event also marked the launch of Telcoin Remittances between Canada and Rwanda, and the company marked the occasion with its first digital billboard in downtown Kigali.

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Notably, the previous event in Kigali also led to a major commercial sign-off with a leading Africa-focused fintech that Telcoin will utilize for powering various transactions — both fiat and digital asset based. More details will be shared upon integration, and we’re thrilled to be expanding our product offering in Africa.

Twitter/X Support Handle

To better serve our users, Telcoin has obtained a customer service account on Twitter/X, which will be used to field support requests and reply to common issues posted by users. The account handle is @TelcoinHelp. Please remain vigilant of fraudulent Telcoin and Telcoin team member accounts on various social media and messaging platforms. Scammers will often attempt to spoof the handles of our official accounts or team members’ accounts, often by switching a letter or adding a character. Telcoin will never reach out to you first or ask you to transfer tokens. When in doubt, reach out to community support, a community manager on discord, or visit the official support form at https://www.telco.in/support.

New Telcoin team members

Patrick Gerhart joins Telcoin as President of Nebraska Banking Operations. He has been brought on board to oversee the development and implementation of Telcoin’s Digital Asset Depository Institution. Patrick comes to Telcoin with 20-plus years’ experience in banking and policy. Most recently, Patrick was President of the Bank of Newman Grove in Newman Grove, Nebraska. In 2019, he was named one of Independent Banker’s 40 Under 40 and has been on numerous banking boards and committees during his career, including the Independent Community Bankers of America’s Agricultural Committee and the Nebraska Independent Community Bankers Board of Directors.

Sagar Malhotra joins Telcoin’s Singapore office as Head of Compliance. Sagar previously served as Director of Regulatory Compliance at Chainalysis, where he was the SME for Regulations and Compliance for the APAC Region. He facilitates dialogue with regulators and industry players on key policy issues within the cryptocurrency industry. Sagar also drafted and gave feedback to regional regulators and central banks on existing and upcoming digital asset regulations, working with law enforcement agencies and FIUs on streamlining STR/SMR processes for building a robust and compliant crypto ecosystem.

Sagar has worked closely with FIs and helped them with digital asset adoption as well as identifying their crypto exposure. He has developed compliance framework and internal policies covering local regulatory requirements for crypto businesses. He has developed risk assessment matrixes for various FIs and digital asset exchanges covering crypto risk frameworks in various countries across APAC, including Australia, New Zealand, Korea, India, Singapore, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian countries to facilitate crypto adoption.

Prior to Chainalysis, Sagar was Head of Compliance at Japanese exchange Liquid. He was one of the three working group members involved in drafting the Payment Services Act back in 2018–2019. He was the Vice President of CFS AML Risk Management, Risk and Prevention at OCBC Bank and Associate Vice President, AML Compliance, Group Commercial Banking at Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore. Sagar has a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from National University of Singapore, a CAMS from ACAMS, USA and a Quality Leaders (Six Sigma) from OCBC Bank, Singapore.

Jesus Anaya joins Telcoin as a Senior DevOps Engineer in the United States. With a comprehensive background in DevOps engineering, Jesus stands out as a maestro in the domain of Kubernetes orchestration. Over the years, Jesus’ expertise has been centered on designing, implementing, and managing robust Kubernetes ecosystems, ensuring that applications scale efficiently and remain resilient in the face of changing demands. This deep-rooted experience is further amplified by a meticulous attention to CI/CD pipelines, allowing for streamlined development processes and seamless software deployments that keep pace with the rapid evolution of the tech landscape.

Security and monitoring have never been mere afterthoughts for Jesus; they are integral parts of the mission. With a keen eye for potential vulnerabilities, Jesus employs state-of-the-art security protocols to protect both infrastructure and applications. This, coupled with an extensive knowledge in monitoring tools and methodologies, ensures system reliability and offers peace of mind to stakeholders.

Akhil Sarikonda joins Telcoin as a Web Developer, based in the United Kingdom. He is currently focused on developing an array of web applications, including the TELx Network. Prior to joining Telcoin, Akhil worked in the HRtech and Edtech sectors, contributing his software development skills to various companies. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Akhil has also developed a standalone SaaS platform. He holds a Master’s degree in Advanced Computer Science from Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK.