Israeli fintech company Kima and Mastercard’s FinSec Innovation Lab have joined forces to embark on a groundbreaking project that aims to bridge the gap between decentralized finance (DeFi) tools and traditional financial services like credit cards and bank accounts. The ultimate goal of the project is to make a “DeFi credit card” a reality. The innovative initiative has received support from the Israel Innovation Authority.
Kima, a peer-to-peer money transfer and payment protocol, operates a blockchain without smart contracts due to their perceived limitations. The company plans to expand its existing protocol and introduce a mainnet and token by the second quarter of 2024. As part of the collaboration, FinSec will act as a Kima node and hold a significant stake in the network.
FinSec, which is backed by the Israel National Cyber Directorate, Finance Ministry, and Innovation Authority, specializes in working with fintech and cybersecurity startups. The partnership between FinSec and Kima was officially announced in July 2023.
The primary focus of the project is to establish a connection between DeFi and traditional finance, thereby overcoming technical and regulatory obstacles that hinder the widespread adoption of DeFi. Eitan Katz, co-founder and CEO of Kima, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative, emphasizing the need for this transformation.
Kima has been experiencing rapid growth, evident from its announcement of six integrations and 18 new partnerships in 2024 alone. Notably, Kima has expanded its operations to include ventures in Vietnam and Thailand. Additionally, the company has joined the incubator of ChainGPT, an artificial intelligence protocol, as Kima utilizes AI in its liquidity management algorithm.
FinSec supports 16 companies, with Kima being one of them. Mastercard has also been actively involved in various blockchain development projects. The company is collaborating with US banks to facilitate tokenized settlements on a shared ledger. Furthermore, Mastercard has partnered with crypto lending platform Nexo to develop a crypto-powered credit card in the European Economic Area. Additionally, the company is engaged in research on central bank digital currency alongside blockchains and payment providers.
Source: Israel21c