The details of the deal were not disclosed. Both platforms contain tokens and the companies stated the combined community will be briefed early this year on the final mechanics of the merger from the standpoint of tokenholders.
Elrond and Utrust’s declared purpose is to enable online payments to take use of Web 3, the next version of the internet based around decentralized apps. After integrating the Utrust payment gateway into Elrond, the next stage is to provide merchants with access to decentralized financing (DeFi) and blockchain-based staking – dubbed “Merchant Yield.”
According to the corporations, the objective is to turn payment processing services from a cost to merchants into a revenue stream. Both companies stated that they welcome tight coordination with financial authorities and that the initial deployment would be focused on Europe.
In a digital environment, payment processors still offer lengthy settlement times and charge merchants anything from 3% to 11% of each transaction, an amount that is frequently the difference between profitability and bankruptcy for many businesses throughout the world.
“At their best, payments should happen near-instantly, globally, and at a trivial cost. Enabling this for merchants worldwide is our primary goal. The second product we will be working on together with the newest member of the Elrond family is Merchant Yield, a Web3 payment processing solution that will provide yield for merchants, instead of requiring them to pay a percentage of the transacted value. The implications are hard to overstate,” said Beniamin Mincu, Elrond Network CEO.
The Merchant Yield application, which will go into beta testing in the first half of this year, will have many risks versus return tiers, ranging from staking on the Elrond proof-of-stake blockchain to participating in DeFi protocols.
Elrond Network was established in Sibiu by Beniamin and Lucian Mincu brothers, alongside entrepreneur Lucian Todea.