Hi everyone,
My name is Charles-Edouard LADARI, and I have a background in Maths, Machine Learning, and Computer Science. I recently graduated with distinction from the Polkadot Blockchain Academy cohort in Singapore. I am an alumnus of École Centrale Paris, having also completed a research internship at ETH Zurich. With 8 years of experience in software development, including dev, DevOps, and data engineering, I am excited about the potential of Polkadot’s technology to address modern challenges.
Tagline:
Non-custodial crypto stripe-like payment gateway for E-Commerce.
Brief description:
KwickBit wants to enable e-commerce businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments seamlessly. Our non-custodial gateway will integrate easily with WooCommerce, allowing customers to choose KwickBit at checkout for a straightforward payment experience. Unlike custodial solutions, KwickBit will let businesses retain control over their funds, aligning with the core principles of cryptocurrency. By simplifying crypto transactions, KwickBit bridges the gap between digital currencies and e-commerce.
How does the project relate to Polkadot:
KwickBit leverages the advanced capabilities of the Polkadot/Substrate network to enable seamless crypto payments on e-commerce websites. We chose Polkadot/Substrate for its comprehensive infrastructure, meeting our need for a secure and reliable platform. By facilitating payments in USDT/USDC, we offer an efficient solution for businesses and customers. Our project not only addresses real-world needs but also showcases Polkadot’s strengths, helping to bring new users to the network and market it as a powerful blockchain solution.
Plans:
Our immediate goal is to implement a smart contract to manage on-chain logic and launch our product quickly. While we aim to evolve into a parachain for enhanced resilience and features, we believe a step-by-step approach is more practical.
As we grow later and evolve to a parachain model - if by then it makes sense as we envision it - we envision offering subscription models akin to those with credit cards, and integrating with state identity providers in Europe, such as Smart ID in the Baltics or Impots.gouv in France, to facilitate seamless on-chain identity verification.
Why are we carrying this project:
- Banking Exclusions: Many people are unjustly denied bank accounts simply because banks don’t like their activities, even when these activities are legal. This exclusion leaves people without essential financial services.
- Distrust of Third-Party Entities: There’s a growing reluctance to trust third-party entities with funds due to numerous cases of accounts being frozen without valid reasons. People want more control over their own money.
- Preventing Financial Censorship: Blocking access to banking is a common way to censor individuals. We believe in democracy and that only justice—not companies—should decide when someone is punished. Our non-custodial solution ensures users maintain control over their funds.
- Making Crypto More Practical: We agree with Gavin Wood that much of current crypto use is speculative. We aim to make crypto more useful for everyday transactions, bringing it into real-world applications.
- Growing Potential of Crypto Payments: While online crypto payments are currently significant ($11 billion), they are still tiny compared to total online payments ($6 trillion). We believe we are at the start of a major shift towards crypto payments, similar to the early days of online shopping, and we want to help drive this change.
Team:
Partially grant supported:
- Founder - Charles-Edouard LADARI
- Engineer - Bruno PARGA
- Frontend Developer and Designer - Lisa OSMONOVA
- Plugin developer - To Be Hired
Not grant supported:
- Social Media Manager - Anneli TOOMSALU
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