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Introduction

Money is an essential component that drives the modern world, facilitating the exchange of goods and services between producers and consumers through a complex network of economic intermediaries. However, the current financial infrastructure suffers from several critical shortcomings, posing significant threats to its stability and reliability, and ultimately increasing the risks users are exposed to — risks too frequently covered by the taxpayers. From counterparty risks to opaque transactions and centralized control, the flaws of the present financial system can result in dire consequences, including financial crises and societal disparities. The traditional financial system has several limitations that are both significant and numerous, ranging from time-consuming and costly cross-border transactions to ambiguous and untrustworthy asset allocation. Transferring assets entails substantial counterparty risk for institutions, with limited transparency and accountability. Additionally, the current system excludes a large proportion of the population, especially those in developing countries, from accessing mainstream financial services, exacerbating poverty and impeding socio-economic advancement.

Despite the multitude of drawbacks associated with the conventional financial system, the DeFi ecosystem offers a ray of hope by offering solutions to many of these challenges. By capitalizing on decentralized infrastructure and open-source protocols built on the blockchain, DeFi platforms such as Aave, Compound, Maker, and Uniswap offer users greater transparency and accessibility to financial services. Additionally, DeFi enables seamless cross-border transactions, streamlining the intricate and costly processes of the traditional financial system.

M^ZERO Labs, a company headquartered in Berlin, is seeking to transform the financial landscape with an innovative approach that leverages selectively what DeFi and TradFi are good at. The company's strategy aims to bridge the chasm between the present financial system and decentralized applications by developing a neutral infrastructure that can interconnect assets from all corners of the world's financial system. At the forefront of the digital finance revolution, M^ZERO Labs is spearheading a new era of transparency, efficiency, and openness. With its technology and strategic alliances, the company is positioning itself to overhaul the financial ecosystem and seeking to enable both individuals and institutions to achieve their full potential.

Future of Finance

M^ZERO Labs is dedicated to disrupting the worldwide financial system through the establishment of a decentralized infrastructure that empowers institutional participants to allocate assets on-chain and transfer value in a completely transparent, open-source, and composable manner, while simultaneously minimizing their counterparty risk. The company's platform has the potential to unite global financial assets with decentralized applications, enabling participants to leverage enhanced capabilities and access new markets, as well as improve existing financial products.

The company aims to provide sophisticated middleware for on-chain and open-source value transfer to accredited financial institutions that adhere to local regulations. The company's goal is to become the premier decentralized money middleware that facilitates on-chain interactions among large and sophisticated actors.

To realize this objective, the team at M^ZERO Labs is researching three distinct layers. The first layer, the governance layer, would establish the rules, mechanisms, and legal structure necessary to create a decentralized consortium that would enable asset providers and liquidity providers to connect to the protocol. The second layer, the architecture layer, would ensure that the on-chain protocol architecture is censorship and risk-resistant, neutral, and composable. Finally, the connectivity layer would enable governance actors to connect the architecture to external systems. By implementing these layers, M^ZERO could develop a more accessible, transparent, and efficient liquidity distribution system capable of disrupting the financial landscape. Although M^ZERO's vision is ambitious, with the right approach and technology, it has the potential to chart a path for the future of finance.

M^ZERO has developed an agnostic governance module based on the Simple Participation Governance System (SPOG). The SPOG system enables governance to make simple decisions, such as approving addresses to interact with the protocol and perform specific roles.

The Team

The M^ZERO Labs team is comprised of seasoned professionals with a diverse range of expertise in finance, technology, and blockchain. Luca Prosperi, the CEO of M^ZERO Labs, is also a researcher at Dirt Roads, an advisor at Cherry Ventures, and an advisor and trustee at Eco. Oliver Schimek, the COO of M^ZERO Labs, has 15 years of experience in wholesale finance, an MBA from LBS, and is an approved regulated MD and European securitization expert. Prior to joining M^ZERO, Schimek was the LOVE at MakerDAO. Greg Di Prisco, the Lead Architect at M^ZERO Labs, co-founded Ajna Protocol, serves as an MP at Distributed Capital, and was formerly the Founder & CEO at RWA Co, Head of Business at Maker, and a derivatives trader.

Conclusion

M^ZERO Labs is a cutting-edge value transmission framework that has the potential to disrupt asset allocation and value transfer in the global financial system. The company's decentralized infrastructure is designed to facilitate transparent, open-source, and composable value transfer, while simultaneously minimizing counterparty risk. The company recently raised $22.5 million in a financing round led by Pantera Capital, and the funds will be used to aid ongoing product development and build a decentralized infrastructure that disrupts how institutions allocate assets and exchange value. Their unique approach and focus on transparency and minimizing risk make them a standout player in the fintech space, and the company is well-positioned to make a significant impact in the years ahead.

Paul Veradittakit

DISCLAIMER

Pantera Capital Puerto Rico Management, LP and its affiliates (“Pantera”) makes investments in crypto assets and in blockchain-related companies.?Pantera and/or its affiliates or personnel may be an investor in, or have relationships or other business arrangements related to, certain instruments, companies and/or projects discussed herein.?This document does not contain any advertisement for Pantera’s investment advisory services, or any other services or products, whether provided by Pantera or otherwise.?The information and opinions presented in this document are solely those of Paul Veradittakit; they do not represent, and should not be interpreted as representative of, the views of Pantera or any other individual working for Pantera, and do not represent investment, legal, tax, financial, or any other form of, advice or recommendations.?Neither Pantera nor Mr. Veradittakit is acting, or purports to act, as an investment adviser or in a fiduciary capacity with respect to any recipient of this paper.?Information contained in?this document?is believed to be reliable, but no representation is made regarding such information’s fairness, correctness, accuracy, reasonableness or completeness.?There is no obligation to update this document or to otherwise notify a reader if any matter stated statement or information contained here changes or subsequently is shown to be inaccurate.?Nothing contained herein constitutes any representation or warranty as to future performance of any financial instrument or company.?Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon, and performance or outcomes may differ materially from what is contemplated herein.?Opinions included here incorporate subjective judgments or may be based on incomplete information.?This document does not constitute or contain an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities or a recommendation to enter into any transaction, and no reliance should be placed on this document in making investment decisions.?