As many in the crypto world are waiting (impatiently) for Bitcoin’s next breakout move, other crypto projects have benefitted from the impasse and stealing a bit of the limelight normally shone brightly on BTC or ETH.
However, crypto investor and influencer Ben Knaus thinks we should be looking elsewhere. We got the opportunity to speak to Ben and get his thoughts on what we should be looking at and why.
Ben’s corporate background was in M&A in the US and UK, working on multiple acquisitions in the franchise and licensee space, predominantly in the energy sector. Having begun his crypto journey only recently, Ben has become a major investor in digital currencies and a respected voice in the crypto community.
I asked Ben how his journey began.
“I found crypto when a friend asked me to look into XRP for him. I begrudgingly did some due diligence, which led to more research and eventually 3 months later I was purchasing Bitcoin for under $4K, Eth under $100, and Cardano at $0.02.”
But Ben’s interest in crypto increased the more he researched. In particular, Cardano the fully open-source decentralised public blockchain and cryptocurrency project caught his eye. Ben explains:
“I especially like the Cardano Ecosystem because of the strong unwavering community. And I think there are some absolute gems that will be launching Dapps on top of Cardano.”
He added:
“I was able to buy enough Cardano to put me into the top 10% of all Ada address holders. I’m a true believer in digital assets helping developing countries, when it comes to banking the unbanked, remittances, increasing GDP, and financial freedom/inclusion with no central point of failure.”
Indeed, Cardano has become a rising star of late. Cardano, now the third-ranked cryptocurrency by market cap, successfully applied the “Alonzo” hard fork this week, adding smart contract capabilities to its functionality. For crypto visionary Ben, Cardano is exactly the type of project to be interested in.
“My main focus in crypto investing is finding early state projects in strong ecosystems so that I can front-run the looming network effect,” Ben said.
In a previous interview earlier this year, Ben spoke warmly of Cardano, saying:
“Just looking at Cardano, a generation 3 decentralized Crypto, is setting itself up to bank the unbanked. Providing financial inclusion to the 30%+ of adults in the world without a bank account.”
“Now through protocols like Cardano, the unbanked can finally have a financial identity, a place to transact, a secure wallet, a means and a bridge to microloans and decentralized finance. And a means of remitting money to friends and family at 49% less cost than other avenues like Western Union or money gram. The unbanked can now send money like an email. And remit in seconds.”
“We’re seeing Cardano develop identity solutions for nation-states who struggle with education and national verification. Recently 5 million students and teachers are onboarding educational accreditation and records into the Cardano blockchain, these will forever be tamper-proof, and accessible with the click of a button.”
One project on the Cardano blockchain that peaks Bens interest is MELD.
MELD is a decentralized and trustless lending protocol built on the Cardano Blockchain that is also very strong community-focused. It lends fiat currency provided by fiat lenders to borrowers that collateralize their cryptocurrency in a MELD Smart Contract.
MELD puts forth a brand-new investment mechanism called an Initial Stake Pool Offering (ISPO). In doing so, the company revolutionizes the way community efforts are transformed into tangible value. Users can delegate ADA (Cardano’s native asset) to one of MELD’s stake pools to join. Currently, over 350 Million ADA are staked to Meld Stake pools from over 16,000 delegators. Bringing the value staked in the ISPO to over $735 Million USD.
Ben’s thoughts on MELD:
“When I dove into MELD’s white paper it gave me a feeling reminiscent of discovering and buying Cardano at $0.02 cents. “
“The use case is immense, especially for those like myself whose net worths are heavily weighted in digital assets, and continue to convert fiat into crypto.”
“And the ability in a cyclical market to borrow during a downturn is very intriguing. On top of that, I’d much rather borrow or add liquidity to a decentralized protocol versus having a central point of failure. “
“Couple those points with fiat loans, a non-adversarial approach to banks, KYC-AML procedures, and other loan products like a crypto line of credit attached to a debit card. Keep in mind this is while being more transaction efficient, and 99% cheaper than ETH based solutions.”
“Above all else, the team has a long time horizon and is developing far in advance of the rollout and the immediate future. MELD is here to stay, and I’ll be utilizing it from all facets.”
So, there you have it. Meld and Cardano further development of the Cardano ecosystem, two to watch out for from Ben Knaus.
Ben Knaus knows what he is saying
MELD baby!!!