A due diligent on StraitsX

Keep in mind that this thread serves as a due diligent thread and to not a tutorial on how to use their platform, do not use this explicitly, instead combine them with different sources as your information.

So, what is StraitsX?

Source: StraitsX

Very simply, a platform where you can mint or redeem XSGD with SGD at a 1:1 ratio on the Ethereum, Polygon & Zillliqa blockchains directly from your bank account.

How does it work?

After registering and verifying, you can directly send XSGD to your metamask account. This removes redundancies like swapping funds or sending a crypto asset to your wallet.

Source: StraitsX

1. To get SGD on your wallet, you’d have to transfer SGD over to their account.
2. And once they’ve successfully verified the transfer, they will mint XSGD at a 1:1 ratio. It’s like swapping for USD but in this case, there are no fees or spread.

3. Then they will send an equivalent amount of XSGD to the wallet address that you’ve inputted. Duration takes about 1 working day.

Link to their guides here: https://www.straitsx.com/sg-blog-category/guides

ChainDebrief has a good guide too here: https://chaindebrief.com/a-guide-to-straitsx-and-xsgd/

So you might be wondering, why change?

Easy, because FTX happened. With the downfall of FTX and previously, Celcius Network and Hodlnaut, I think its time you learnt the lesson: "Not your keys, not your crypto" as graciously displayed by the "geniuses".

Source: knowyourmeme

Jokes aside, here's why.

Previously, for exchanges with no SGD support, you’d have to:

1. Send SGD to an exchange
2. Swap to USD on the exchange
3. Send USD to MCA
4. Send USD to another exchange
5. Buy a crypto asset
6. Send to your wallet

Instead, you’d be shortening this to 2 steps. Same goes for withdrawing

1. Transfer SGD to StraitsX
2. Receive XSGD on your wallet.

StraitsX removes steps 2 to 5 and its all done in 1 working day, so unless you're rushing for some on chain liquidity, this is the best bet (and probably the cheapest).

A little more on StraitsX

StraitsX is currently operating in Indonesia and Singapore. They were formerly Xfers but they merged with Payfazz to become Fazz, aiming to accelerate financial access, with SEA being the current target market.

Source: StraitsX

Source: StraitsX

Team

Source: StraitsX

StraitsX is led by Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX and Liu Tianwei, Deputy CEO of Fazz. Aymeric is responsible for all business operations while Tianwei is focused on expanding into Indonesia.

Source: StraitsX

They have 50+ team members with 4 regional services in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan. I’m guessing that they’ll expand into both Vietnam and Taiwan since they have already set up operation sin both Indonesia and Singapore.

Product Line

Their product line include their API solutions

Source: StraitsX

Stablecoins — XSGD and XIDR pegged at a 1:1 ratio with their respective currencies, SGD and IDR — with onramp and offramp services for personal and business accounts.

These are audited by Quantstamps with monthly attestations here

Source: StraitsX

StraitsX earn

Source: StraitsX

And last but not least, an OTC desk.

Source: StraitsX

Safety and Regulation

StraitsX is licensed under the Payment Services Act as a Major Payment Institution for e-money issuance by MAS. They are ISO 27001 certified, an international standard for information security.

Source: MAS

Financial security wise, they store most of their XSGD on hardware wallets and a small remaining in hot wallets. Their choice of wallet is Copper, certified with ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus.

Furthermore, any proposed transactions goes through multiple levels before it is executed for maximum security.

Statistics

Source: StraitsX

• 2.5 Billion XSGD transacted on-chain
• 200000+ Users
• XSGD is the world’s largest non-USD stablecoin

Noteworthy news

• Partnered with @circle for USDC support
• @AaveAave Proposal to add support for XSGD
• Finalists for Global CBDC Challenge organized by MAS

Sponsors for

• Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2022
• Singapore Blockchain Week 2022
• Token2049 Singapore
• Asian Business Case Competition 2022
• Coinfest Asia
• Indonesian Blockchain Conference

Ecosystem

Source: StraitsX

More on API and Earn

StraitsX has 4 API Solutions:

• Payment API allows easy receiving of XSGD/SGD via FAST or direct from account.
• Payout API allows easy sending of XSGD/SGD via FAST or direct from account.
• Customer profile API is for registering user profiles for payment usage.

• Treasury API allows management of funds across both XSGD and SGD (this is new and coming soon)

StraitsX Earn is generates 7% on XSGD compounded daily with no lock in and no minimum balance.

Source: StraitsX

Keep in mind that this is offered by Xfers Invest which is an affiliate of Xfers and this is NOT licensed or regulated by MAS so please DYOR.

Source: StraitsX

How does it work?

StraitsX sends XSGD to Uniswap’s XSGD/USDC liquidity Pool to farm yield.

1. User sends XSGD to StraitsX Earn, held in the StraitsX Wallet
2. StraitsX Earn transfers user’s XSGD from StraitsX wallet to an on-chain wallet.
3. Some XSGD is swapped to USDC to be deployed into an LP on @Uniswap
4. Yield is earned through transaction volumes of XSGD, aka when someone tries to arb FX movements, swaps to XSGD or out of XSGD.

Source: StraitsX

Additionally, when DeFi yields are low, they supplement payouts with corporate funds or earlier profits. Longer-term, they will adjust payout rate to ensure business stability with one week notice and users may redeploy their funds at any time as they deem fit.

StraitsX Earn is vulnerable to DeFi risks such as smart contract risks, protocol failures and malicious actors and manage this risk in 3 ways.

1. Selecting Protocols with a good track record and TVL
2. Monitoring news and protocol activity
3. Exploring DeFi insurance

They do not lend, trade, or leverage and thus, there are no exposure to any counterparty risks of third parties.

Furthermore, yield from an LP does not take on debt/loans nor incur trading losses, which are the main factors leading to credit or counterparty risks.

Conclusion

Ever since the recent debacle of FTX, we have been finding a good platform to on/off ramp onto the DeFi space and this is where StraitsX enter into the equation.

Hopefully, it doesn’t become another one of these contagions but at the same time, I hope it stays relevant and innovative in the space while achieving its vision.

Personally, I started using StraitsX more recently but since I don’t really need to onramp my fiat, I rarely hit the annual cap of this so that might be the only downside of this.

Once again, thanks for reading this thread, hope you liked it, and if you do, consider giving me a follow, RT and like! This will help me keep making these types of threads!

Until next time!

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Disclaimer

This article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be any form of financial or investment advice. Readers should always do their own due diligence and consider their risk index and financial goals before investing in any security.