The financial industry faces persistent challenges such as inefficient cross-border payments, high transaction costs, and limited interoperability between traditional banking systems and blockchain technology. These problems have slowed the adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, despite blockchain’s potential to offer transparency, speed, and security.
To address these issues, Maksym Sakharov, former CEO and co-founder of crypto exchange Exflow, launched WeFi – a platform focused on integrating fiat and cryptocurrency services, providing faster, lower-cost transactions. By utilizing its proprietary blockchain, WeChain, and cross-chain solutions like LayerZero, WeFi enhances liquidity management, fraud detection, and regulatory compliance, aiming to streamline financial processes globally.
WeFi is a decentralized finance (DeFi) company focusing on improving blockchain interoperability and scaling issues within the crypto space. One of their key innovations is the Investment Loan Protocol, which allows users to leverage assets with as little as 20% down. To tackle interoperability challenges, WeFi integrates with LayerZero, a cross-chain solution that enables seamless communication across multiple blockchain ecosystems. This approach allows WeFi to unify liquidity pools and offer a smoother user experience, including easier asset transfers between blockchains.
Positioning itself the first on-chain non-custodial neobank, WeFi also leverages blockchain technology to provide deep liquidity and improve fraud detection. Its integration with LayerZero enables the launch of its native omnichain token, $WEFI, which operates across different platforms without the need for complex processes. This positions WeFi as a leader in building a borderless financial system, aimed at reducing costs and increasing transaction efficiency.
FinanceFeeds had the opportunity to exclusively interview Maksym Sakharov. The WeFi co-founder and Group CEO shared insights on his transition to blockchain technology and how WeFi is addressing key challenges in global finance. With a focus on transparency, compliance, and innovation, Sakharov discussed the unique approach of WeFi’s platform, WeChain, and how it integrates blockchain solutions to solve real-world financial issues. He also highlighted the contributions of notable team members, including Reeve Collins, co-founder of Tether, and Roman Rossov, ex-Product Director at Wise, in shaping WeFi’s mission to create a borderless, secure, and scalable financial ecosystem.
Maksym Sakharov also spoke of the platform’s borderless system which aims to reduce fees and expedite transactions globally via DApps, counterfeit detection, and a Universal Basic Income model, which rewards users for sharing data. Long-term, WeFi aspires to be a cornerstone of future financial infrastructure, making blockchain mainstream and more accessible.
- Maksym, you have a rich history in the fintech space, from leading Exflow to co-founding WeFi. What inspired you to shift your focus toward blockchain as a solution for global finance?
Honestly, it wasn’t so much a shift as it was a natural progression. My time in fintech made me realize that the traditional financial system has a lot of pain points – things that are inefficient, overly complex, or just plain outdated. Blockchain offers a way to solve many of those issues, especially when it comes to transparency and automation. At WeFi, we’re building something that can streamline these processes, making them faster, more secure, and easier to manage. And this is exactly what inspires me now – creating a smarter, more unified financial system that works better for everyone.
- Blockchain technology has been present in fintech for several years now, but as you’ve mentioned, issues like transparency and interoperability persist. How does WeFi aim to address these challenges?
You’re right, blockchain’s been around for a while, but a lot of the solutions haven’t really cracked the problem of interoperability or scaled the way they promised. We’re trying to change that by building on WeChain, our permissioned blockchain that integrates L1 and L2 solutions from the Cosmos architecture. This makes it easier for different financial systems to work together while keeping everything transparent and automated. Smart contracts play a big role here – they take care of the processes that typically require manual input, reducing human error and improving efficiency.
- Your team consists of notable figures like Reeve Collins, co-founder of Tether, and Roman Rossov, ex-Product Director at Wise. How does their expertise contribute to WeFi’s mission?
Reeve and Roman bring a wealth of experience, and that’s been invaluable in shaping WeFi. Reeve’s work at Tether gave him deep insight into how to create financial products that people can trust and actually use. Roman’s background at Wise exposed him to the real pain points in global payments, especially the inefficiencies in cross-border transactions. They both understand the real-world challenges fintechs face and are passionate about using blockchain to solve those problems in a scalable, practical way. Their combined experience allows us to focus on what really matters – building solutions that work in the real world, not just on paper.
- WeChain emphasizes compliance and regulatory innovation. How does the platform approach compliance, especially given the complex regulatory environment?
Compliance is a huge part of what we do. A lot of current regulations are based on outdated methods, like using static identifiers – ID checks, for example, or flagging transactions that hit a certain threshold. WeFi takes a different approach with a behavior-based identification. By analyzing on-chain behavior, we can create a more adaptive and dynamic compliance system. Thus, regulators can see what’s happening in real time and respond accordingly, instead of relying on outdated methods. The aim is to make compliance smarter, not harder, and aligning with both global standards and local regulations.
- How does WeChain use AI and decentralized networks to combat financial crime?
With the help of AI, WeFi created a system that can spot unusual patterns in real time. Our platform processes millions of transactions, and through AI-powered ITO nodes, it learns to detect behaviors that deviate from the norm. The AI is constantly improving as more data comes in, making it better at predicting and preventing financial crime. This decentralized setup means that nodes across the world are working together to identify risks and create a truly global system for combating fraud and other financial threats. Here, it’s better to be proactive rather than reactive.
- One of WeFi’s goals is to build a borderless financial system. Can you explain how this system will operate and what benefits it will offer?
The idea is that any financial institution – whether it’s a neobank, a traditional bank, or a fintech – can run ITO validators on our network. These validators help maintain the network and, in return, get access to better fraud detection, lower costs, and enhanced security. For users, this translates to lower fees and faster transactions, no matter where they are in the world. It’s a borderless system, and it doesn’t rely on the existing infrastructure, which is often slow and expensive, especially for cross-border transactions.
- WeFi places a strong focus on solving real-world financial problems. What are some of the key products or services that WeFi plans to offer in the light?
WeFi is all about providing practical solutions that people and businesses actually need. We’re offering DApps for projects like neobanks, remittance services, and KYC platforms. Our WeChain blockchain is designed to integrate seamlessly with banks and fintechs, helping them use blockchain for transparent, secure transactions without having to reinvent the wheel. We’re also working on counterfeit detection services for corporations, which is a huge issue in global trade. Everything we’re building is designed to solve real-world problems.
- Your platform offers Universal Basic Income through the use of user data. How does this model work, and what advantages does it offer participants?
We believe that your data is your most valuable asset, and you should be in control of it. With WeChain, users can decide how much of their data they want to share – whether that’s keeping it private, selling anonymized parts, or giving full access for bigger rewards. The data is used to train AI models, and in return, participants earn Universal Basic Income. The beauty of this model is its flexibility. You’re not locked into one level of engagement. The more you contribute, the more you earn. It’s about turning everyday actions, like making transactions, into a source of income while keeping control over your data.
- Can you share more about how WeFi plans to incentivize users to participate in running nodes and contributing to the ecosystem?
We’ve created a dual-incentive system to encourage users to run nodes and contribute to the network. First, by participating, users can reduce their operational costs because decentralized networks are simply more efficient. Second, we’ve built in financial incentives: institutions and fintechs are willing to pay for accurate data and fraud detection, and they allocate budgets to reward nodes that help make these predictions. So, both users and businesses benefit, and that keeps the ecosystem strong and growing, as well as creates value on both sides of the equation.
- What’s your long-term vision for WeFi, and how do you see it impacting the global financial landscape?
Our vision is for WeFi to become the infrastructure that powers the future of global finance. We do want to make financial services more transparent, secure, and accessible, whether it’s for banks, fintechs, or everyday users. As more institutions and people join the network, it will evolve into a truly global system where financial crime detection is better, transactions are faster and cheaper, and everyone has access to the tools they need to succeed. Ultimately, we believe that WeFi can bring blockchain into the mainstream, and when that happens, it’s going to change the way the world handles money.
