PayBX & AXPR: An Update
In this article we’re going to provide some good news, and some less good news, but with a clear plan and next steps ahead for PayBX and the AXPR project and token.
Building a dedicated AXPR team
We recognize that the cryptocurrency and B2C side of aXpire has not received as many resources as it’s needed due to the scaling requirements of B2B projects such as the planned upcoming pilot of ExpenseCore with the top 5 investment bank in the world by AUM, with trillions in assets under management.
This needs to change. We’re in the process of hiring a full-time project manager to lead the complete cryptocurrency side of the business. This is a key hire which will allow the team dedicated to the AXPR project and token to grow and operate more efficiently, led by this new addition to the company and equipped with the necessary budget to succeed.
The plan is to scale the dedicated AXPR team quickly, with no responsibilities outside of AXPR and token-related products. We believe this is a crucial step in enabling the AXPR project to move quickly and to be more in-line with the crypto market as a whole, as well as to offer the community better project updates and communication altogether.
We want to take AXPR from being little-known, to well-known, backed by great products and a vibrant community with effective marketing targeting the crypto-audience that we want to attract.
Regulatory hurdles for PayBX
Launching a FinTech product comes with a lot of legal scrutiny. Digital asset focused FinTech is even more scrutinized, with an intensive legal process required to ensure compliance. For a company like aXpire, compliance is key. Without a compliant product, there’s an existential risk to the company, and thereby the project and token.
PayBX is a custodial wallet. Due to this, laws are more stringent and certain licenses are required. If we provided a non-custodial wallet, the launch process would be somewhat easier, but the product would be completely different. U.S. regulations are prohibitively demanding, meaning that we’re focusing only on the EU and EEA market for the initial roll-out of PayBX. However, regulations in this market are far from simple. These past few months, we’ve been working on achieving regulatory compliance for PayBX ahead of the slated end of Q3 September launch date; however, we’ve not been able to achieve this in time.
With the way PayBX is built, certain regulatory hurdles could have been passed if not for the inclusion of AXPR custody and staking within the application. Clearly, however, this is an important part of the product and in fact a necessary one. Therefore, releasing the product without this inclusion is not something that has been or will be considered.
The end result of our pursuit of compliance is that we will not be able to deliver PayBX in Q3 of 2021. We do not have a revised date yet but will launch as soon as we can achieve the regulatory compliance required, which we expect to happen this year. Once a clear and confirmed date becomes available, the community will be notified.
We’re working with outside counsel and experts while simultaneously looking for in-house counsel to join the team, with the goal of this new addition being to more cost-effectively pursue compliance while also staying ahead of the curve on regulatory changes into the future.
Our message to community members is this: PayBX is delayed, and yes, this is not ideal. However, the product will launch. It will receive the high marketing budget it needs to succeed, and it will succeed. Rushing the product to market without regulatory compliance would be a recipe for failure and a risk that the company can not take in today’s environment.
What’s next?
We will continue working on the legal side of things for PayBX. In the meanwhile, we won’t rest on our laurels with regards to the application. With the added time, the product will be polished further and additional features may potentially be completed in time for the revised launch time.
One of the crucial elements being built out and improved is UI/UX (interface and design). As mentioned in our last update, we encountered issues in onboarding UI/UX resources to the PayBX team. This has been resolved and the UI/UX process is underway, which will soon allow for more previews of the application, demonstrations and promotional videos to be created for marketing purposes and to keep the community informed leading up to the launch.
In terms of next steps, we believe the most important of all is the hire of a project manager to lead the dedicated AXPR project and token team. A full-time lead person for the crypto side of aXpire, accompanied by a dedicated team not required to pitch in to other areas/efforts such as the company’s B2B product development, marketing and sales efforts.
You may think this is overdue, and we’d agree. It is clear to us that in order to scale at the speed we want to, this is a requirement, and therefore we’re investing significantly to that effect. There will be better communication, there will be marketing, and yes, influencers too.
We appreciate your patience, enthusiasm and also your criticism.
- The aXpire Team
