Avici: What's the Deal?
Alright, let's talk Avici. Another freakin' crypto project promising to "revolutionize" finance. Give me a break.
The "People's Bank"? More Like the People's Headache
So, Avici wants to be the "people's bank," turning crypto into something you can actually use. Okay, I'm listening...but I'm also side-eyeing hard. They're offering virtual bank accounts, letting you get paid in fiat and then spend it with their card. Zero transaction fees, 0% foreign exchange fees (except when VISA decides to slap you with a cross-border fee, offcourse). Sounds great on paper.
But let's be real, how many "crypto cards" have we seen come and go? Remember all those promises of seamless crypto payments at your local coffee shop? Yeah, me neither. Most of them ended up being glorified gift cards with extra steps.
And this whole "self-custodial neobank" thing? Sure, it sounds cool. But it also means you're responsible for keeping your crypto safe. No FDIC insurance here, folks. Lose your keys, kiss your money goodbye.
MetaDAO to the Rescue? (Or Not?)
Avici raised money through MetaDAO, which is apparently some kind of ICO platform where "prediction markets determine governance decisions." Translation: they're letting a bunch of randos on the internet decide how the company is run. What could possibly go wrong? More information on the Avici ICO is available All information about Avici ICO (Token Sale).
They're calling it an "unruggable ICO" because token holders can vote to liquidate the treasury if the founders screw up. Okay, that's a slightly interesting idea. But it also assumes that those token holders are actually going to be paying attention and acting in their own best interests. Which, let's face it, is a pretty big assumption in the crypto world.
I mean, does anyone really understand how these "prediction markets" work? Are we just handing control over to the loudest voices or the people with the most bots? I'm not convinced.
And zero token allocation for the team? Sounds noble, but let's not pretend that means they're not going to find other ways to enrich themselves. They always do.
zk-Credit Score? Seriously?
They're also planning to implement a "zk-credit score" and offer mortgage opportunities. A zk-credit score? What even is that? Some kind of privacy-focused credit score based on...what, exactly? My on-chain activity? My NFT collection? My shitposting history?
And mortgages? In crypto? Are they out of their minds? The housing market is already a disaster, and they want to add the volatility of crypto into the mix? This is a bad idea. No, 'bad' doesn't cover it—this is a five-alarm dumpster fire.
Honestly, the whole thing sounds like a solution in search of a problem. We already have banks. They're not perfect, but they're generally safe and reliable (until they aren't). Why do we need to reinvent the wheel with a bunch of unproven crypto technology?
Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky. Maybe this Avici thing really is the future of finance. But I doubt it.