Following the meltdown of a well-known stablecoin, a cascade of events took place, including the insolvency of a well-known venture fund, the collapse of a vital lending project, and the aftermath of significant price drops across all major and minor currencies. The total market cap of crypto has plunged to below US$1 trillion compared to May 2022, when it was over US$2 trillion.

Despite being in bearish market conditions, decentralised finance (DeFi), which enables users to trade without intermediaries like banks, has remained steadfast in developments and looks to emerge stronger than before.

The recent events have paved the way for the shedding of weak projects and consolidation of projects with strong tokenomics and business models.

The next growth phase will see DeFi reach greater maturity and achieve long-term sustainability, with protocols having improved revenue models, governance structures and risk management practices, and at the same time receiving greater acceptance across mainstream audiences and finance professionals.

The impact of current events on crypto and DeFi

We saw bailouts ensued with Goldman Sachs leading an investor group to raise US$2 billion to buy Celsius’ assets (the centralised lending company that collapsed). BlockFi, regarded as a blue-chip lender and also a centralised entity, received a US$250 million loan from crypto exchange FTX. Regulators have started to hunker down, paying attention to enforcing guidelines ahead of their roadmaps.

Mainstream investors, many of whom were subscribed to centralised platforms, lost savings and faith in the industry, while crypto projects are impacted by resourcing and their ability to repay debt, with many having to downsize or right-size.

We also saw liquidations of collateral because DeFi applications have suffered due to practices of over-leveraging or over-stacking using the same initial capital. Troubles in one application, therefore, have cascading effects on others.

Though prices have been impacted, DeFi ultimately escaped unscathed from the recent market upset. We also see continuous investments into the space, with Citi recently announcing that it is working on its digital asset custody capabilities, while BlackRock is offering crypto for institutional investors through Coinbase.

On the philosophical front, crucial questions have surfaced: Should bailouts be an expected pattern in downturns, and how does this differentiate crypto from Traditional Finance (TradFi)? How involved will regulators be moving forward, how will their involvement change the landscape, and is this something that is welcomed? How can good DeFi projects be better insulated from the impact caused by bad projects?

Breaking down financial crises and why DeFi matters

If we follow the trajectory of finance, there is a time for new products to be introduced and go through cycles before they can emerge stronger. Similar to the 2008 financial crisis where TradFi institutions failed due to a lack of good governance, the crypto space has seen mismanagement of processes.

Also Read: Is the crypto market dead again?

These risks taken are unacceptable to mainstream investors. Recent events have prompted a deleveraging and “cleaning up” of weaker projects regarding utility, tokenomics, and ideology.

The nature of the crypto market’s downturn in 2017 and 2022 is also vastly different. The phenomenon that took place in 2017, namely the ICO bubble, caused an existential threat to the entire space.

However, the ecosystem in 2022 has significantly matured, with many more blockchains and apps created and used, as well as more financially-savvy professionals like financial institutions and venture capitalists becoming important market players.

The market conditions today are also being affected by a wider market downturn, contributed by interest rate hikes, and markets being overleveraged, which has compounded the effect on a comparably smaller crypto market.

Despite turbulent times, DeFi protocols continue to advance what financial institutions (FIs) are already good at while significantly reducing resources and optimising processes.

Blockchain technology enables protocols to operate with a substantially smaller headcount requirement due to reliance on code for processes rather than people. Developmental blockages typical of FIs are also reduced as there is less manual coordination necessary.

Distinctly different from centralised finance (CeFi) and its opaque black boxes, DeFi’s ability to track user funds on-chain enables users to understand the utility and track movements of their funds. The aforementioned Celsius and BlockFi are examples of CeFi.

The recent downfall of Celsius, which resulted in investors being unable to regain their funds, highlighted a clear lack of transparency in funds and operations. One promising possibility is more open and efficient monitoring of the on-chain activity by regulators that could significantly improve current processes that require extensive research and reporting by audit institutions.

This transparency that is evident in DeFi is the fundamental building block of a financial system that will only see greater adoption in time.

The future of DeFi is bright

We will observe more consolidations taking place through strategic partnerships and new trends emerging, such as projects taking up credit lines to create a greater buffer to secure their customer’s assets. Regulators will take a firmer approach and become more hands-on locally, while anonymity and AML will be bolstered and will aid in the upwards trajectory of DeFi.

We will see institutions continue to pour into crypto. Innovations in DeFi will continue to take place and are already on the horizon, including The Merge for Ethereum, Layer 3, and DeFi 2.0.

Also Read: Are we prepared to embrace the possibilities of Web3 beyond crypto?

While promising a bright future, there is still much more room for DeFi to mature. DeFi in its current form is relatively primitive. DeFi projects need to study and include the sophistication of TradFi that has been tried and tested over decades.

Projects need to put into place TradFI’s more rigorous safety features while creating policies for risk management. They also need to better educate everyday users about their products, not only about the benefits but also the downside risks associated with participating in these opportunities.

Besides upgrading systems, DeFi needs to take an honest look at what good governance really entails. Taking another lesson from TradFi, governance is what well-run and regulated institutions are good at, with rules and guidelines put in place to ensure investors are not defrauded.

On the jurisdictional front, certain approaches have stood out more than others. Singapore, for instance, took a strict stance before May’s events, intending to protect ordinary investors while bolstering the support of institutional investors. There is wisdom here for other jurisdictions to learn from and implement while DeFi moves forward in its maturation cycle.

The end of one era, the beginning of a new one

We have seen a significant impact on crypto and DeFi alike. However, DeFi has remained relatively unscathed and will survive the next uptake, as it was largely centralised projects that took a major hit. The recent events have sparked interest from serious institutional investors and more regulation worldwide.

It has also invigorated new DeFi possibilities, more diverse protocol segments, and new players and talents entering the space. While the journey towards recovery for projects, developers, and investors will be a continual process, the future of DeFi looks bright. These events were the catalyst for strong projects to stand the test of time, like gold being refined through a furnace.

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Earlier today, LiquidX, a Web3 venture capital studio for the metaverse, announced its acquisition of Anime Metaverse, a publishing and licensing company focused on building anime, manga, and dorama in Web3. This announcement has drawn our attention not only to the acquisition but also to LiquidX itself.

In its approach to investing in the Web3 sector, the company describes itself as the world’s first NFT projects aggregator that operates as both investor and operator.

It was founded under the awareness that an estimated 90 per cent of NFT projects fail before their first mint. This is why, to ensure the economic viability of its portfolio companies, LiquidX takes over entire departments and flows with its team of experts from blockchain development, tokenomics, and treasury management to even legal counsel and metaverse development.

As one of the players in the nascent Web3 sector, LiquidX says that it is the first in the market to implement this approach.

To understand more about LiquidX and the works that they are doing, e27 reaches out to Kendrick Wong, Co-Founder and Chairman of the company.

Having been featured on Forbes’ 30 under 30 lists, Wong is a prominent founder of companies that include N.Fungible, a launchpad and marketplace for fashion brands in the metaverse. He is also Managing Partner of Alpha CW, a US$200 million fund focused on blockchain, NFTs, and Southeast Asian startups.

In this interview, he speaks about what sets LiquidX apart from other organisations and what other big plans they have in store for the remaining of the year.

Also Read: How Web3 will revolutionise borderless banking in Southeast Asia

This is an edited excerpt of the interview.

I would like to understand more about the model that LiquidX is implementing. It seems to require you to be fully involved in a project. Can you explain why this is a better model? How did you come up with the models that work?

LiquidX places an M&A engine in front of infrastructure development for Web3.

We take direct execution positions in our portfolio companies, with the entire operational departments managed by our support teams. This includes blockchain development, tokenomics, treasury management, art, game, and human resources.

Currently, Web3 gaming companies and accelerators take minority stakes and offer portfolio companies consulting and operational light support. Conversely, some funds take large passive stakes.

But we take prominent positions and handle all the backend operations and admin work from our portfolio companies, enabling our founders to focus on growing the company’s core assets.

What challenges do you aim to solve with this concept? How will your solution solve these challenges?

From a business perspective, we see LiquidX as a superscalar for retail adoption into Web3.

Often, the founders of high-potential blockchain and NFT projects lack the resources and experience to achieve the ambitious roadmaps projected. This is where LiquidX bridges the gap from a commercial, operational, and economic standpoint.

These founders have the vision, and we help them achieve it.

Can you tell us how you review a potential investment? What is your investment strategy?

We make fundamental bets in the three directions mentioned above – gaming, infrastructure, and intellectual property.

Each of them is evaluated differently. For Anime Metaverse, the decision criteria came down to the team and their access to existing anime IP.

In addition, Anime Metaverse is relatively new but made several million US dollars in revenue. They had to build a team fast, and LiquidX could fill that gap instantly, making this transaction a simple decision.

Also Read: Are we prepared to embrace the possibilities of Web3 beyond crypto?

What milestones have you made so far in solving this challenge?

Our treasury team already manages over US$50 million in funds across different yield platforms, currencies, and cryptocurrencies. Currently, LiquidX handles five fiat pools (EUR, USD, SGD, MYR, NZD) and three different crypto pools (USDC, Bitcoin, Ethereum).

Anime Metaverse and LiquidX are in the process of closing a joint transaction in the anime intellectual property industry to grow the brand further.

What is your big plan this year?

Anime Metaverse marks LiquidX’s first large acquisition, and we are processing a second within the coming weeks. In parallel, we are discussing acquiring an additional two or three seed-stage investments by the end of the year.

Despite the overall economic outlook, LiquidX will continue to invest and acquire in this space, particularly high-potential projects that will enable us to grow a portfolio across our focal pillars in the industry – Infrastructure, IP, and GameFi.

Beyond that, LiquidX is constantly looking to bring our exceptional capabilities to our acquisitions, accelerating their roadmaps with quality and speed to demonstrate our value proposition to more founders in the space.

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The startup scene in Singapore is booming, so much so that it recently secured its spot as the highest-ranked Asian country for startups. With the government’s continued investment in this growing ecosystem, Singapore has become a natural magnet for entrepreneurship.

However, startups in the little red dot now face strong headwinds. Hiring is becoming more challenging due to the ongoing global tech talent shortage, meaning startups face an uphill battle when competing with larger companies to attract and retain top talent.

Singapore’s startups require more than just tenacity to navigate these challenges. With limited resources, they need to be agile, flexible, and creative to deliver competitive and innovative products in an increasingly crowded environment. 

While every successful business needs a clear vision, a killer product and a willing audience, open source software represents a golden opportunity to help significantly lower the barriers to entrepreneurship. That’s because it accelerates growth and innovation in almost every way, boosts collaboration, enhances security, optimises software reliability, and inevitably, improves the quality of services.

Open source has built the modern world, and much of that software lives on GitHub. Central to this is the incredible community of open-source developers.

In fact, GitHub is now home to over 83 million developers and growing. Entrepreneurs looking to go from idea to IPO can build their startup on GitHub and gain access to the world’s largest open source registry. In short, open source democratises technology and offers access to a global pool of developer talent.

If you’re not already convinced, here’s why Singapore’s startups should embrace open source as a route to innovation and a surefire way to develop extraordinary software and services.

Accelerate innovation

Open source gives startups access to technology at their fingertips, empowering companies to stand on the shoulders of giants and compete with established players in the market.

With open source, entrepreneurs could have an app created hours after imagining an idea. That’s because open source is rooted in the principle that software should be available for anyone to download and modify.

Also Read: SMEs and startups must make open source security a collective responsibility

Instead of creating products from scratch, development teams can leverage tried and tested code and build on existing ideas to ship quality software that enables companies to provide better services and products that meet the needs of their customers.

Scale securely

There’s another critical reason why startups should embrace an open source strategy, and that’s its ability to bolster software security. Red Hat’s 2022 State of Enterprise Open Source report revealed that 89 per cent of IT leaders see enterprise open source as more secure or as secure as proprietary software.

The collaborative way open source software is created means that security is a community responsibility. With more eyes inspecting code, vulnerabilities are discovered and fixed continuously throughout the entire development process. 

While open source offers major security advantages, startups can take an even more progressive approach to integrate security into open source development and increase their speed of innovation in the process.

Implementing a “DevSecOps” strategy for software development bakes security into every process, essentially shifting security testing and reviews left by making all parties involved in the application lifecycle responsible for security.

The easiest place to start in your DevSecOps journey is choosing partners that offer advanced tools that your development and security teams actually trust. The knock-on impact is more reliable software that’s shipped more quickly.

Help startups access the talent they need

Unlike multinational companies with an established presence worldwide, hiring global talent can be a stumbling block for startups due to the complexity and need for additional investment.

Also Read: How open source fostered the community spirit in the tech world

Implementing an open source strategy helps level the playing field by giving startups access to developer talent from every corner of the globe. That’s because open-source developers can contribute from anywhere and everywhere, meaning restrictive boundaries are removed.

But the benefits on offer are so much more than simply geographic. Open source puts the developer experience front and centre and constantly evolves to help developers increase speed and productivity.

This means developers at the top of their game want to work with open source and will seek out roles that enable them to do so. In fact, Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech) recommends organisations adopt open source to make hiring easier.

Critically, developer experience is about much more than speed and productivity. It relies on collaboration and culture. The successful adoption of open source in an organisation indicates its progressive nature and willingness to support and inspire developers, which is what top developers will be looking for during their job search.

At the end of the day, an organisation that embraces open development is where open source thrives, and that progressive culture inspires and motivates developers to do their best work. Startups have a ripe opportunity to embed this culture into the fabric of their organisation from the onset. Doing so will attract up-and-coming developers who want to be part of a wider open source community focused on delivering technological change.

As any startup CEO will tell you, access to tech and the speed with which you can harness it to secure your competitive advantage is often the difference between success and failure. This could not be more true for Singapore’s startups that are trying to thrive against a backdrop of increasing competition and a tech talent shortage that shows no sign of abating.

Luckily, open source represents a golden opportunity, one that offers the ability to supercharge growth and innovation, allowing these companies to compete with even the most established players in the market.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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Despite being a country with abundant agricultural resources, Indonesia is facing a threat to its food security.

The archipelago loses up to 48 million metric tonnes of food annually primarily due to inefficient processing, storage, transportation, and selling of food crops. It also faces a very high risk of soil erosion. The lack of organic content in the soil harms yields and leads to malnutrition.

Growing food loss, contamination, and undernourishment due to complex supply chains, climate change, and deteriorating lands — all pose a massive threat to the country’s food security.

Geraldi Tjoa and Erwin Gunawan, two entrepreneurs at heart, wanted to do something about this.

So, in 2019, they set up GREENS with a mission to eliminate unnecessary food loss and nourish people.

GREENS is a hyperlocal meta-farming company (meta farming is a way to farm virtually from anywhere, including metaverse, and consume and monetise their harvests in the real world).

“Our vision is to build hyperlocal gastronomy in every neighbourhood,” says Tjoa.

Also Read: East Ventures backs GREENS, which builds hyperlocal food ecosystem using AI, Web3

GREENS is led by CEO Andi Sie and Co-Founders Tjoa (CPO) and Erwin Gunawan (CBO).

Sie and Gunawan hold Bachelor’s degrees in Science from The Ohio State University. While Sie has over 15 years of building tech startups in the US and Indonesia with multiple exits, Gunawan has equal years of experience in the supply chain, F&B, and distribution and is also blockchain certified.

Tjoa, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Pelita Harapan University, has expertise in food production and automation with a robotics background.

Building a hyperlocal food ecosystem

In a nutshell, GREENS aims to build a hyperlocal food ecosystem in Indonesia, leveraging AI and Web3 technologies.

The Jakarta-headquartered company has created a fully integrated seed-to-meal dine-in platform (GREENS station), indoor growing chambers (GREENS pods), and farming as a service so that anyone can eat well and participate in growing food in their community.

GREENS stations will be distributed in every community to help decentralise food sources and increase access to food equity for all people. Each GREENS station is powered by one or more GREENS pods. GREENS pods automatically use AI to cultivate every crop with minimal human-to-plant interactions. It uses IoT to fulfil the growing needs (like water, temperatures, and others) of different crop varieties.

“Hyperlocal food ecosystem is where food is grown, processed, and harvested in the same location. We build this ecosystem using our proprietary indoor cultivation system with a controlled environment called GREENS pod. Each GREENS pod is integrated into our dine-in facilities called GREENS stations. We grow high-nutrient food sources like microGREENS using up to 90 per cent less water and 70 per cent less land inside every GREENS pod and serve the harvests as delicious meals in a GREENS station where the GREENS pod is located,” shares Tjoa.

“Blockchain in GREENS provides traceability and transparency of every crop we harvest. Blockchain also enables us to enter the Web3 ecosystem toward the decentralisation of food production. Our objective is to provide a way for ordinary people to participate in better food production by enabling them to grow food together with us,” explains Sie.

With GREENS’s farming as a service technology and service offerings, people with zero experience in agriculture could virtually farm in metaverse from anywhere and consume and monetise their harvests in the real world.

Also Read: Kra-Verse Food Hall where cloud kitchen meets metaverse

According to CBO Gunawan, the startup aims to empower 240 million non-farmers in the archipelago. Currently, Indonesia, with a population of over 270 million, has an estimated 33 million farmers. These farmers want to participate in growing a variety of high nutrients foods like microGREENS that are hard to grow traditionally. “We plan to bring GREENS stations to as many communities as possible across Indonesia and beyond.”

The startup recently secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding led by East Ventures, with participation from other unnamed investors.

GREENS now has plans to raise seed funding for metaverse integrations and to deploy GREENS stations in a minimum of 100 communities within the next three years.

But the market and investor awareness and education remain a great challenge in its path to achieving this mission.

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Image Credit: GREENS

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Superkul, an Indonesian startup providing cold chain and chiller-based last-mile delivery services, has closed an undisclosed seed funding round led by East Ventures.

The startup stated that it would use the capital to scale the operation by adding operation fleets, hiring people, and enhancing its digital platforms. It will also develop the cold chain mid-mile business.

“With the big potential of the cold chain logistics industry in Indonesia, which was also accelerated by the shifting behavior of the market due to the pandemic, we are confident to seize the ongoing needs and momentum to bring more empowerment to the overall growth of the society,” said Co-Founder and CEO Cathrine Susilowati Prajitno.

Superkul was launched in 2020 by Prajitno and Felix Sutanto (CFO), Chris Wiranata (CTO), and Eunike Yvonne Hanata (Marketing Manager).

The startup offers a fleet of motorcycles equipped with refrigerated boxes, called Superkul boxes, that can carry -22॰C to 10॰C. These containers provide constant delivery temperature with a same-day delivery method to ensure the quality of prime goods and improve food safety and hygiene.

Also Read: Ex-Tokopedia AVP’s Astro attracts US$4.5M to expand ’15-min e-commerce delivery’ service in Jakarta

The firm also eliminates the need for extra packaging and single-use thermafreeze for delivery. This helps business owners and customers save money and avoid the expensive delivery cost.

Currently, Superkul operates mainly in Jakarta and Bandung and claims to have served more than 231 clients.

It aims to operate 100 fleets in H1 2023 and will open its operations in other major cities in the archipelago, providing last-mile delivery, middle-mile aggregator, and cross docks services.

“Cold-chain logistics is a huge industry in Indonesia, and we believe the right integration of digital solutions provided by Superkul will help millions of Indonesians to scale their businesses. We are glad to welcome Superkul into the East Ventures family, and excited to experience more growth and impacts brought by Superkul to the logistics industry in Indonesia,” said Devina Halim, Principal of East Ventures.

According to the statement, Indonesia’s cold chain logistics market is worth US$4.97 billion in 2021. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2 per cent, it is expected to reach US$12.59 billion in the next decade.

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