In Building Ownership in the Gig Economy, we introduced the concept of the Moves Collective, a new digital ‘co-op’ providing ownership to Moves stakeholders through Aion. In this post we introduce Moves Crypto – a product for capital providers within the Moves Collective.
Moves Crypto connects the rapidly expanding capital markets within crypto to the growing financial needs of independent workers.
With Moves Crypto, an individual holding stable crypto assets like USDT can earn a sustainable, fixed yield by lending their assets into a common pool that is lent out to independent workers through Moves’ products. This enables Moves to support more independent workers, across more geographies with access to more affordable credit than traditional sources of capital.
Given the dynamics of the crypto market, its volatility, and its risk profiles, we’ve built Moves Crypto with certain characteristics to achieve its objectives.
On price volatility, we’re addressing this by restricting the Loan Pool (i.e capital to be lent) to stablecoin contributions (USDT to start).
On underwriting risk, we’re addressing this by building an on-chain Collateral Pool of community-contributed Aion that acts as a guarantee to the Loan Pool. In addition, individual USDT contributors are not exposed to specific loans; instead contributions are pooled and lent out by Moves across hundreds of individuals.
In essence, Moves Crypto is a dynamic 3-sided marketplace for lenders, guarantors, and Moves (the borrower) to provide independent workers with access to affordable credit in exchange for a predictable, fixed yield.
Diagram illustrating the participants and flow of capital
As a member, you will be able to decide whether you want to lend in USDT and/or contribute to the guarantee collateral in Aion. Both of these activities deliver yield to the contributor, but over time, their risk profiles may vary, and in response their respective yield.
Beyond providing capital to fuel the growth of Moves, we envision Moves Crypto users becoming a new class of member in the Moves Collective, thereby providing long-term economic alignment between stakeholders and the overall outcomes of the Moves Collective mission to support independent workers in the gig economy.
Alpha Launch
The first version of Moves Crypto will be released for a public Alpha in mid-October. This first release will have a Loan Pool cap of 50,000 USDT, backed on-chain by 100% matched collateral value in Aion – approximately 500,000 Aion (may vary with market fluctuations).
Contributors to this Alpha will commit to a 3-month term for both the loan value in USDT and the collateral value in Aion.
As a lender (in USDT), contributors will earn an annualized yield of 8% (or 2% over the 3-month term).
As a guarantor (in Aion), Collateral Pool contributors will earn an annualized yield of 8%, paid in Aion based on the dollar value of their contributed Aion at the time of deposit. Moves will also contribute Aion to the Collateral Pool but will not receive a yield.
As with any Alpha product, our objectives are to learn from our members and incorporate their feedback into subsequent versions of the product. We’re also endeavoring to market this product into a crowded market of DeFi and CeFi options by focusing on our differentiators. Namely, we want customers of Moves Crypto to not only be attracted to its yield but also be attracted to the problem it’s helping solve.
Alpha Summary:
Launch: Mid-October
Loan Pool Cap: 50,000 USDT
Term (Lock-Up): 3 Months
Loan Pool APY: 8% (USDT)
Collateral Pool Cap: 100% of Loan Pool (Appx: 500,000 Aion)
Moves Collateral Contribution: 75% of Loan Pool (receiving no yield)
Community Collateral Contribution: 25% of Loan Pool
Collateral Pool APY: 8% (Paid in Aion based on contribution dollar value by Community)
We’re excited about this upcoming milestone. We hope you’ll consider contributing and eventually joining our ranks in the Moves Collective.
If you’d like to sign up for email notifications for upcoming news on Moves Crypto and launch announcements, click here.
