Over the next three days, our team at Bitcoinist will be covering xDay 2023, an event organized by MultiversX at the Palace of Parliament, Romania. Formerly known as Elrond, the project was renamed in 2022 to focus on the Metaverse, one of the hottest trends in crypto.
During the event the head of product was in favor MultiversXs native “SuperApp” xPortal, Sergius Biris, unveiled new features to expand the ecosystem. The project aims to bring new users into the network by offering social interactions, bridging with other blockchains and more to compete with Elon Muk.
xPortal goes after Elon Musk’s ambitions
Since last year, when Musk took over Twitter (renamed “X”), the entrepreneur has gradually tried to turn it into something more. The social media app allows users to receive tips, subscribe to their favorite content and interact with non-fungible tokens.
These features emphasize the relevance for users of working with a single hub. MultiversX and xPortal aim to compete with Elon Musk by offering users access to this and other features announced at the conference, such as gamification, access to the metaverse and NFTs to deliver a “versatile digital experience.”
Unlike the efforts of
Furthermore, MultiversX has a vision to remove all friction from onboarding their ecosystem. For example, xPortal announced a new fiat for enabling and disabling cryptocurrencies and a feature that allows users to exchange their tokens.
For European users, xPortal will enable peer-to-peer fiat payments using the traditional banking system, SEPA and SWIFT earlier next year. During the conference, Biris stated:
The features launched today, especially the debit cards, have been a long time in the making. Today’s launch elevates xPortal from a crypto wallet to a financial super app. In doing so, we have created a bridge to an interconnected future where the boundaries between crypto, fiat and emerging technologies such as AI blur, creating an unparalleled user experience.
The new features also include tools to help developers and makers leverage the MultiversX ecosystem. The xPortal app already allows them to launch their products for users to download quickly, similar to Apple’s Appstore and Google’s PlayStore.
Turning Web3 and Crypto into ‘money’
The conference was held with a core view: users want to leverage the technology, so crypto projects should focus on security, scaling, and making products accessible. Instead of ‘Web3’ or ‘Web4’, xPortal is about converting crypto into ‘money’ available to everyone.
Sergiu Biris, Head of Product at xPortal, spoke to us during the event in an exclusive interview and shared the vision of the project:
They should be able to do everything, whether it is crypto or fiat, they don’t have to think about Blockchain, blockchain is not money. We try to remove the barriers between crypto and fiat, because in our view money is just money. And that’s why we want to make it easier for everyone to do what they need in terms of financial needs through the app.
Cover image from MultiversX, chart from Tradingview