Wirex Eyes Mainstream DeFi With Fireblocks Integration

Crypto-friendly payments app Wirex intends to bring decentralized finance (DeFi) to a mass audience.

Announced Wednesday, Wirex is launching X-Accounts, a new service that offers users the chance to earn up to 10% interest on crypto holdings and 16% on fiat funds, in a partnership with custody and infrastructure firm Fireblocks.

Enterprises with a taste for cryptocurrency are clearly attracted to the rapidly moving DeFi space with its steroid-enhanced yield potential. Behind its hassle-free custodial platform, Wirex is tapping DeFi majors Aave, Uniswap, MakerDAO and 1inch.

Customers can earn passive income from DeFi, by providing liquidity to platforms like Uniswap and lending on Aave, said Wirex CEO Pavel Matveev, adding that his mum could use the service.

“The income you can generate with DeFi pools and lending is much higher than the centralized model where you use institutional lenders to generate interest,” said Matveev. “The other way people earn in DeFi is by yield farming, but that’s outside our risk appetite and not suitable for this product.”

In terms of risk, the partnership with Fireblocks will give Wirex up to $30 million insurance on crypto assets for its DeFi service, Matveev said.

“Maximizing digital asset security is extremely important with this level of operational scale and efficiency, especially when it comes to DeFi,” Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov said in a statement.