Since its founding two years in the past, NoOnes, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform, has achieved rather a lot in a brief house of time. As a visionary entrepreneur, Ray Youssef, NoOnes CEO, helps prepared the ground within the evolving world of crypto. Utilizing Bitcoin as a instrument, Youssef and his group consider it’ll deliver empowerment to the International South.
On this unique interview, Rebecca Campbell, crypto content material editor at CoinJournal, spoke with Ray Youssef, co-founder and CEO at NoOnes, to debate NoOnes imaginative and prescient and the way it and Bitcoin are empowering the International South. Youssef dives into the challenges they face, a monetary apartheid in Africa, political pressures from the West, the limitless alternatives for the International South, and the way the connection between crypto and other people is evolving.
Rebecca Campbell (RC): Are you able to inform me about NoOnes and the place the title got here from?
Ray Youssef (RY): NoOnes is an excellent app for the International South. We began as a peer-to-peer crypto market, however we all the time deliberate on being far more than that. In lower than two years we’ve added a spot trade and a digital VISA card, and we’re about to launch our NoOnes reward card. We’re additionally a messenger app and you’ll even top-up your cell phone. NoOnes is constructed for the individuals of the International South, so we don’t have the issues of a US-based enterprise making an attempt to serve individuals within the International South.
The best way NoOnes obtained its title is a shaggy dog story. When NoOnes was only a dream, a collection of brainstorming periods with the fellows who helped get it began, I’d been having these random ideas about our household canine who had died about 15 years earlier than. Her title was Heidie, however my mom gave her a nickname – Noons.
I cherished that canine and for some motive, she was continuously in my ideas round that point, so in the future as a joke I mentioned, “We must always name the corporate Noons.” I wrote it down on a bit of paper and noticed that it learn like NoOnes, and I assumed it was good. It captures the reality about what we needed to do with a decentralized market. Your cash is NoOnes enterprise. Your information is NoOnes enterprise. Your small business is NoOnes enterprise.
RC: What are your imaginative and prescient and targets with NoOnes?
RY: Ever since I spotted the ability of crypto and peer-to-peer, my imaginative and prescient and targets haven’t modified. There are lots of people in crypto who need to get wealthy, however that’s by no means actually motivated me. I noticed crypto as a leveler, an equalizer. And I noticed the way it may make a distinction to individuals continuously left behind by the monetary system as a result of their cash is the fallacious shade or their passport is the fallacious kind.
As quickly as I noticed the potential of crypto and peer-to-peer working collectively to create this eco-system that permits any type of cash to grow to be one other type of cash, I knew it was a mechanism that might finish monetary apartheid. I name it monetary apartheid as a result of that’s what the worldwide monetary system is – it discriminates in opposition to individuals due to who they’re and the place they arrive from. I’ve identified that for a very long time. With NoOnes, we are able to change that as a result of we’re primarily based within the International South and tailor our merchandise to go well with the individuals who want them most.
My imaginative and prescient is to see tons of of cities like Dubai all around the International South, with individuals buying and selling freely, constructing wealth and making their lives and their household’s lives higher.
RC: Are you able to discuss concerning the position NoOnes and Bitcoin will play in empowering the International South?
RY: To start with, we’re primarily based right here. Meaning we have now boots on the bottom and might discuss to the individuals who use our market to purchase crypto, commerce reward playing cards, make funds, remittances, no matter. Our merchandise will not be primarily based on a Western mannequin after which compelled on individuals as a result of they don’t have any different possibility.
Take KYC, for instance. After I was within the US, we regularly needed to file a suspicious exercise report and lock a International South buyer’s funds when, for no matter motive, they have been flagged on the system. Then we needed to wait till the American regulators obtained again to us to say, “Okay, you possibly can let these guys go.” Generally, we needed to wait years till we may launch a buyer’s funds.
In the meantime, these individuals, who did nothing fallacious, needed to wait till the regulator mentioned they might entry their very own cash. Within the meantime, they needed to discover cash from some place else to cowl what the regulators locked away. Even the banks can’t try this, however Uncle Sam can. It was loopy. Why ought to we put our clients by means of that form of ache?
The US nonetheless controls Africa to such an extent that it’s troublesome for international locations to commerce with one another. That’s a part of the monetary apartheid I discuss. Look what occurred just lately with Binance. A brand new CEO is available in and the very first thing they do is disable Pan-African commerce on Binance peer-to-peer. Kenyans can solely commerce with Kenyans and Ghanaians can solely commerce with Ghanaians.
That’s the precise coverage the US has been utilizing to maintain Africa and the remainder of the International South poor. We’re altering that. I spend a variety of my time advocating for Pan-African commerce. It’s a vital a part of making the International South rich. Think about if some man operating a enterprise in New York couldn’t commerce with a enterprise in New Jersey. Would any American put up with that? Why ought to Africans?
RC: What are the challenges and alternatives you face in reaching this for Bitcoin to succeed in its full potential within the International South?
RY: There are many challenges going through us, however the greatest one is coping with the political strain from the West. Anybody who goes in opposition to the West and their central bankers goes to be resisted. The governments and elites who run the worldwide monetary system are sturdy as a result of they’ve a collection of sliders, a bunch of levers they’ll push and pull to regulate every thing.
They will pull a technique and say, “Oh, Nigeria, you haven’t been listening to us, so we’re going to take your slider all the way in which right down to zero.” They will transfer these levers at any time, so that they have great energy, and so they can management the economies of the world. They will punish or reward a market, even entire economies, and we have to offset this.
Crypto and peer-to-peer are the offsets, and that’s why the West has such an issue with crypto. It’s why they put individuals who don’t observe their mannequin in jail.
The alternatives within the International South are limitless. Africa has the fastest-growing inhabitants of any continent. It has 1.5 billion individuals, and the subsequent 25 years will add virtually one other billion. There’s a youth unemployment downside proper now, however I see that as a chance. I’ve met so many younger Africans who’re savvy and dynamic and so they all need to succeed. I’ve seen lots of them use our market to earn money, to start out companies, and to alter their lives.
India additionally has superb alternatives, as does Latin America. There are such a lot of alternatives in all of those locations for individuals to create companies by piggybacking on our platform – that’s one of many best successes of NoOnes, I believe. We are able to’t have success except we assist others have success, and the ethics of that’s principally lacking within the company world at this time.
Which corporations are giving again 50% of their earnings to the individuals who use their merchandise? We’re doing that at NoOnes. We’ve bonuses, incentives, and a Companion Program that rewards the individuals who assist us develop as a result of we would like individuals to assist us unfold the phrase concerning the energy of crypto and peer-to-peer. We want the International South to know that it doesn’t must accept a Western mannequin that doesn’t go well with its wants.
If we add up all of these issues – dynamic, savvy younger people who find themselves hardworking and able to grasp alternatives, a common container for cash that can be a retailer of wealth, and the NoOnes market that offers the International South entry to finance and free commerce – we are going to attain the complete potential of the International South, and I believe it could occur rapidly. Most individuals within the West might be astonished by it.
RC: How is NoOnes completely different from what you probably did at Paxful?
RY: Paxful had a significant drawback – it was primarily based within the US. I’ve already talked about KYC and all the issues we encountered making an attempt to assist individuals within the International South as a US firm. You’ll be able to’t do it – and it’s getting worse. Have a look at what occurred to Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, [the former CEO of Binance]. He went to jail. Have a look at what occurred to Pavel Durov, the Telegram CEO – he went to jail the minute his aircraft landed in France.
I had the identical imaginative and prescient at Paxful that I’ve now, and possibly it took me too lengthy to appreciate that I couldn’t obtain my mission of operating a US firm. However now the shackles are off. Nothing is holding us again now that we’re primarily based within the International South.
I discovered years in the past that my precedence needs to be to serve my customers, my clients. They will hearth the CEO. I discovered that serving to my dad and mom run a newsstand on Columbus Circle in New York Metropolis once I was a child.
Within the US, the primary precedence for many corporations is to serve the federal government, then, in the event that they’re completely happy, you possibly can assist your clients. That’s not proper. And I received’t try this. We noticed what occurred with Binance. They gave up their consumer information to the [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF and tons of of individuals misplaced thousands and thousands of {dollars} – and a few of them have been killed. Evaluate the NoOnes privateness coverage to the Binance privateness coverage. We received’t surrender our consumer information. I couldn’t say that once I was CEO of Paxful.
RC: How do you see NoOnes evolving within the subsequent 5-10 years?
RY: NoOnes goes to get greater, that’s for positive. Generally I’ve to remind myself that we didn’t exist two years in the past as a result of we’ve come thus far in such a short while, however that is solely the beginning. Individuals would possibly consider us as a crypto peer-to-peer market, however we’re all the time including new merchandise, making current ones higher, and we hearken to our customers so we may give them what they want.
I discuss our enterprise as an ecosystem as a result of that’s one of the best ways to explain how we’re evolving. We created a market for crypto and reward playing cards, we added a spot trade and different merchandise, and we feed earnings again into that ecosystem. Individuals are constructing their companies on prime of our platform.
Expats working abroad ship cash house and understand our platform is a greater, quicker, and cheaper means of doing it than utilizing a conventional cash changer – so they begin doing it for his or her mates and create a aspect hustle. Somebody must make a cost out of the country, however they don’t have a checking account, so that they use our platform – they see how easy it’s, so they begin a enterprise doing the identical for different individuals. And all of it feeds again into the ecosystem.
Think about all these companies taking the place of the normal banks and cash changers – the wealth stays within the International South as a substitute of lining the pockets of all of the executives working for banks and monetary establishments within the West. That’s a part of the explanation they don’t like what we do.
Think about when all of the individuals within the International South understand how straightforward it’s to make these modifications. How straightforward it’s to cease the drain on the sources of the International South – it’s been taking place for hundreds of years and it has to cease, and it’ll. In 5 years, possibly much less, NoOnes might be main that drive and the International South might be on the way in which to changing into a superpower.
RC: How do you see the connection between crypto and the broader inhabitants evolving?
RY: That’s an important query as a result of it’s the entrance line within the battle occurring in the mean time. Earlier than I understood crypto I assumed it was simply “Web humorous cash.” Most individuals nonetheless suppose that means now as a result of they don’t perceive it. I’m undecided governments perceive it that effectively, however they realize it’s a menace to the established order. That’s why they tried to cease it, and that’s why they’re making an attempt to regulate it now.
The actual energy on this planet is the one which controls the cash system. The individuals in energy have levers they use to maintain us in our place, and the style wherein we reverse engineer it should be defined very clearly and logically for individuals if we’re to reach getting them to assist us repair the present state of humanity.
In easy phrases, I’m speaking a couple of foreign money battle, and once I say foreign money I imply something that may be a retailer of worth and may be traded. Ultimately, the individuals might be received over to crypto as a result of its energy can’t be denied – even governments acknowledge this now. Some international locations banned it, then they realized its utility, and now they’re making an attempt to manage it. Crypto isn’t going away.
The actual query is whether or not the essence of it will get destroyed within the technique of being accepted by the broader inhabitants. Crypto was designed to be trustless and permissionless – meaning we don’t must belief some authorities or company to think about its worth.
RC: What’s NoOnes specializing in in the mean time?
RY: Our focus is on our three core values – everybody eats, bullish schooling, and revolutionary transparency.
I’ve already talked about giving again 50% of our earnings and our associate program, and that’s a part of what we imply by “everybody eats.” I don’t need to get wealthy on the expense of the individuals who use our merchandise. Some individuals snort at me once I say I’m on a mission, however I’ve been saying it for greater than a decade as a result of it’s true. We received’t be completely happy if we’re profitable and others round us will not be, in order that’s why everybody eats is essential.
One other precept is revolutionary transparency. A lot of companies discuss being clear, however most of them don’t observe by means of. This is the reason we get issues like we noticed with FTX. NoOnes is completely different. Anybody who needs to see the enterprise information I see about NoOnes can see it by trying on the CEO Dashboard on our app.
Proper now, our greatest focus is on schooling. I’ve talked concerning the alternatives within the International South, however these alternatives received’t imply something if individuals don’t find out about them and grow to be educated about how crypto may help them resolve issues. We created the NoOnes Academy so individuals can study not solely tips on how to commerce profitably, but in addition how they’ll do it safely.
Some individuals would possibly need to make a cost or ship cash house, however they’re petrified of crypto as a result of they’ve heard nasty tales within the media. We need to educate them so that they perceive how straightforward it really works and the way a lot utility it has. Some individuals would possibly simply use it in a small means – serving to them pay for one thing as a result of they don’t have a VISA card or a checking account. Others could be expert and savvy, however they’re unemployed and so they’re trying to earn cash to pay the payments or to start out a enterprise – they could learn to commerce reward playing cards or crypto by means of the NoOnes Academy.
If sufficient individuals grow to be educated about how our tremendous app works, the International South will change dramatically.
RC: What are your plans for NoOnes when it comes to progress and improvement?
RY: I’ve already talked about Dubai, but it surely’s an important instance of the way forward for the International South. Lots of people suppose Dubai has had large progress due to oil, however that’s simply not true. Sheikh Mohammed made commerce straightforward and the atmosphere business-friendly, and fairly quickly the cash flowed into Dubai like a river. The cash that got here in was then fed again into improvement and we are able to see the consequence at this time.
My imaginative and prescient is to see cities like Dubai throughout the International South, with NoOnes main the way in which. We’ll present the infrastructure, the schooling and the alternatives, and meaning being on the bottom, listening to individuals so we may give them what they should assist them develop. We’ve carried out it with our peer-to-peer market, our spot trade, a digital VISA card, and reward playing cards – and new merchandise are coming.
We’re taking a look at a peer-review credit score rating so customers will get a score that can be utilized to offer financing for start-ups and enterprise house owners. We need to fine-tune our messaging operate as a result of that’s a good way to draw individuals we are able to educate on the advantages of crypto.
We want extra individuals to assist us develop, so we’ll be hiring individuals on the bottom wherever we do enterprise. Already our customers are serving to us by making content material to assist educate their fellow residents. Our progress and improvement all the time revolve round work. Free commerce permits the cash to circulation and that places individuals to work to allow them to create their wealth. I actually consider in common wealth, however that solely occurs when the roadblocks to progress are eliminated. To try this we should have the individuals behind us, and that’s why schooling is so essential.
Our purpose was for NoOnes to have a billion customers inside seven years, and if we do that we are going to deliver the International South nearer to the wealth it’s been denied for therefore lengthy.
