I recently spoke with Pranjal Prashar, CEO and Founder of WeFi. Pranjal and his team at WeFi are attempting to open DeFi to everyone by building a DeFi protocol that offers undercollateralized loans. WeFi is not Pranjal’s first rodeo. A serial entrepreneur, Pranjal has co-founded other firms successfully before entering the DeFi and Web3 space. His pursuit with WeFi is a simple one: Make DeFi accessible to all. And in this interview, we aim to pick Pranjal’s brain on the state of DeFi, his insights on the market, and more. A major criticism of DeFi is that it is too complex and difficult to use. How do you see DeFi becoming more accessible and user-friendly? Fair criticism, I’d say. It is a simple equation. If a product is difficult to use, no value or incentive is enough to retain a user. In a crowded market like DeFi where a protocol is born every other day, how do you stand out? Quality and seamless user experience is surely a foolproof way. Even the facet of user adoption hinges majorly on the usability of a product. Now, what lies ahead is builders and teams prioritizing user experience in their building process. It is no longer an aspect that is good to have, it is a must-have fulcrum around which utilities shall be built. So, aspects like core design principles and user flow will rank higher on the priority list. From an accessibility point of view, I see two key developments that can aid and fastrack people into DeFi. The first one is education and awareness. More people understanding the need for DeFi, trying their hand at DeFi, and eventually having skin in the game are all part of the growth journey for the market. The other development can be viewed as an extension of the UI/UX improvements spoken earlier. We need to abstract a lot of complexities like private key management, switching between networks, and other pain points into a simple-to-use DeFi interface. If not, I’m afraid DeFi will remain exclusive to a select few, and mass adoption will remain a dream. What are your ‘Whys’ behind WeFi? What problems or inefficiencies are you trying to solve? The current DeFi lending and borrowing landscape is yet another rich man’s playground. Similar to TradFi where debt and capital are easily accessible for the rich, DeFi with its love for overcollateralized lending is more or less on the same route. Democratizing this situation with undercollateralized lending is a key reason behind building WeFi. Access to capital and capital efficiency for all is a simple goal for us. Also, a substantial part of crypto lending that comes from centralized players is not entirely foolproof either. While they are more accessible for borrowing loans, their reliance on centralized credit scoring systems is a tall barrier that keeps millions away from participating. Moreover, centralized lenders charge exorbitant rates of interest. Both these issues are being solved by WeFi with a decentralized system that provides a level playing ground for all. And a floating interest rate dictated by the market forces thereby giving no chance for human bias. With these, WeFi is sure to onboard millions into DeFi as we are breaking down barriers of entry and disrupting the DeFi infrastructure. For an average DeFi and crypto user, how does WeFi help their DeFi experience? While one category of DeFi and crypto users are looking for hassle free return on their investment, the other degens and pro traders are limited by lack of access to funds, composability and fragmented cross chain opportunities. As I mentioned, right now, they are being limited from accessing a lot of opportunities because of a lack of capital. And if someone wants to further borrow, it is a hassle currently. This is an unfortunate restriction on them from being able to participate and capitalize on the alphas presented by the market. What we are offering is giving them financial backing in a trustless manner for them to explore DeFi completely. They can access capital easily and use leverage to maximize their winnings in the market. Apart from trading, they can also employ the capital for staking and can earn passively. Lenders can also supply the capital to WeFi and earn interest on their lent assets. On top of that, they are eligible to earn $WEFI tokens for providing liquidity to the protocol. Also, we have our IDO launch scheduled on 5 May 2023 in collaboration with Kommunitas. This will be an honest effort to respect early believers of our vision and protocol. What are your thoughts on the current landscape of regulations and compliance in Web3? The current regulatory landscape is not as concrete as we would like. But, efforts are being put in to regulate the industry, so it is a waiting game of sorts. However, it is way better as compared to the calls for blanket bans raised against the cryptocurrencies market. Also, Web3 is a substantially big industry already and has immense room for growth. So, building it without compliance and regulations is a big no-no. It is not healthy for the industry nor is it a viable pursuit. Regulators and compliance boards surely have a role to play in shaping up the entire industry. Already, we are seeing countries like the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland being proactive in laying down the frameworks for the Web3 industry. The clarity of having rules is an incentive enough for companies and founders to move to those countries and build, rather than operating with unknowns. On the other hand, there are some countries in denial. They are keeping both users and companies in the dark. Hopefully, this changes and more countries realize the potential of Web3 and facilitate a holistic environment to bloom. For WeFi, our approach will be to work with regulators and countries which are receptive to blockchain businesses. What changes are you looking forward to in the DeFi market? And how do you see your protocol evolving to meet the changing needs of the market? I have already mentioned the user experience developments required for the DeFi market. Apart from that, I’m looking forward to a more inclusive DeFi in terms of interoperability. Right now, it is still a fragmented space with more walls than bridges. Composability  at scale will be a game-changer for DeFi. Alongside, our vision of WeFi as an omnichain protocol will reap rewards drastically if we can access cross-chain liquidity for our users. The potential for growth in this aspect is unimaginable. For WeFi, our evolution is always driven by what our users need and expect of us. Making our users’ lives easier is the only North Star we strive towards. And talking about the protocol, we are equipped to pivot to meet the changing needs of the market. We have been flexible in the way we operate and build without compromising on the integrity or security of the protocol. Hence, I believe our strong foundation will help us overcome the challenges posed by the market. A quality product, tailored to users’ demands, and made easy-to-use rarely fails.

Between Two Computer Monitors: This story includes an interview between the writer and guest/interviewee. 

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DeFi For Everyone: The Vision Behind All Things Pranjal Prashar, Founder of WeFi

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