German Fintech Unstoppable Finance Launches Europe’s First ‘DeFi-Native Bank’

The ink has still not dried on the demise of the EU’s new Crypto asset markets (MiCA) bill, a landmark in comprehensive crypto legislation for the bloc’s 27 states, and already the furnaces of invention have been fired up for at least one European crypto company.

Berlin-based fintech startup Unstoppable Finance, currently best known for its self-service crypto wallet called Ultimateannounced today that it will roll out Europe’s first compatible “DeFi-native bank” along with a fiat-backed euro peg stablecoin according to MiCA’s guidance.

The DeFI banking arm will ensure that the stablecoin is fully backed by reserves, as outlined by the new legislation from Brussels, says co-founder and CTO Peter Grosskopf in a conversation with Decrypt.

Before founding Unstoppable, Grosskopf worked with Maximillian von Wallenberg-Pachaly and Omid Aladini to launch Börse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX), Germany’s first regulated crypto exchange in Germany.

The three then founded Unstoppable Finance in 2021. Their Ultimate DeFi wallet enables users to interact with Ethereumand Solana protocols, self-custodial assets and crypto trading from their smartphones.

Highlighting the recent liquidity crises that rocked Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Silvergate and Credit Suisse earlier this year, Grosskopg highlighted how the chaos briefly derailed Circle’s original stablecoin USDC “because [Circle holds] parts of the reserves in different bank accounts.”

“With [Unstoppable’s DeFi bank] we can deposit money into an account at the European Central Bank (ECB) at any time,” Grosskopf said. “We try to put as much money as possible into an ECB account because we trust [fiat] as the most stable form of money we have today, so it does not depend on the risk management of the bank. That’s guaranteed money, and that’s what we’re trying to maximize.”

The company’s stablecoin is legally classified as a “e-money token“, which usually refers to any blockchain-based stablecoin that indexes its value to the price of the fiat currency it references.

When asked whether Unstoppable is acclimating to the EU’s new rules, Grosskopf answered in the affirmative, drawing on his past history as part of the founding team and CTO of Solarisbank, the first technology company to receive a German digital banking license. seven years ago.

As for when exactly the trio plans to launch the bank, it remains unclear.

“No timeline yet,” said a spokesperson for Unstoppable Finance Decrypt. “As soon as possible of course. Also depends on how quickly we can get all the necessary licenses.”