An offline cellular map for vacationers has raised $50 million in a seed-funding spherical led by Alameda Analysis.Introduced Monday, the funding w
An offline cellular map for vacationers has raised $50 million in a seed-funding spherical led by Alameda Analysis.
Introduced Monday, the funding will go towards the launch of a multi-currency pockets on Maps.me and allow a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on the offline cellular map platform.
Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Capital and institutional cryptocurrency agency CMS Holdings additionally participated within the spherical.
In line with a press assertion shared with CoinDesk, the platform’s pockets is anticipated to “unlock DeFi instruments” for its 140 million customers by permitting them to entry a spread of fee and funding instruments within the Maps.me ecosystem.
“By embedding and democratizing entry to yield-earning finance to hundreds of thousands of customers by way of an on a regular basis app, Maps.me has the potential to essentially propel DeFi mainstream adoption,” stated Alameda Analysis’ CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The transfer intends to take away intermediaries and banks from the financing-of-travel equation by enabling customers to retailer worth and earn yields of as much as 8%. Customers may even have the ability to ship and spend cash in a number of currencies for cross-border journey, provide money again on transactions and alternate funds with out hidden prices, per the assertion.
With its pockets providing, the journey platform stated it’s aiming to fight excessive overseas alternate charges and commissions charged by banks and third-party journey reserving suppliers. Maps.me intends to permit customers to make journey bookings instantly by way of its built-in pockets with “near-zero” charges.
The Maps.me app gives offline entry to turn-by-turn routing, journey guides, resort bookings and maps which is focused towards vacationers with out mobile phone reception or pre-paid telephone plans.
“A seasoned developer group mixed with a pointy product design has the potential to convey an enormous quantity of site visitors to…DeFi by way of the Maps.me app,” Bankman-Fried instructed CoinDesk by way of Telegram.