Simple math Avio plus ethos equals ethos Defi.
Avio has acquired Ethos a company known for its secure non-custodial crypto wallet, which facilitates crypto trading and rewards.
The acquisition aims to combine ethos' self-custodial wallet tech with Avios, crypto trading and rewards platforms, and also deliver a seamless, secure experience that integrates wallet storage, trading.
Rewards all in one place.
Now Eho does offer a unique wallet that lets users maintain control of their private keys with enhanced security features like multi-party cryptography and also patented magic key technology removing the need to remember deep phrases.
Through this merger.
Abrio plans to expand its market reach and enhance its product speed in the D5 space.
Well joining me this morning at the New York Stock Exchange ahead of the.
It is Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of Abio and Fintech TV contributor.
So first and foremost, welcome back, Lawrence.
Great to see you.
Always a pleasure, Rebbe, and what a great introduction to the acquisition we've just made.
Well, of course, tell us why now and why this acquisition.
Well, Avrio is a financial market infrastructure firm.
We've got a lot of digital technology and we've traditionally Focused on the area of private public markets and tokenization, which is just going gangbusters now.
Back in 2022 to 2023 we could see a further crypto wave coming after FTX and the crypto winter, and so we started acquiring crypto assets and certainly we felt after the change of administration last year in the US that that was the right sort of investments to be making.
We had a look at non-custodial wallets and in particular market routing or aggregating software which we call Dexes, and the ethos team really impressed us.
Top tech, top team, really secure stuff and so we're glad to be up and running.
Yeah, Lawrence, you just mentioned noncustodial wallets.
So why is that so important for consumers?
Well, ultimately in crypto there's a term called, you know, not your keys, not your crypto, but ultimately a non-custodial wallet sits on your smartphone and it's secure.
You're protected by your Apple or your Google ecosystem.
And so that's an important part of how your money, your US dollars, your crypto.
So or maybe your tokenized stocks get stored and so it's kind of like having the safety deposit box on your phone where a lot of other solutions you've got to give the key to your safety deposit box to someone else.
In this case you maintain it and you maintain it securely, but it's really the decks in combination with the wallet that allows you to trade and get best execution for purchasing.
Crypto across any market, any chain that is the real powerhouse of that that goes along with the wallet.
So Chair Atkins from the SEC has come out saying, look, it's, it's a Native American right and part of our freedom to make sure that people have non-custodial wallets and can custody their own financial assets.
So we think we're in the right place at the right time.
And Lawrence, speaking of being at the right place at the right time, we're here at the New York Stock Exchange.
We know that technology powers everything that's happening all around us.
So while we're on the topic of tech, tell me about how artificial intelligence powers this technology you're talking about.
Well, AI, you know, you don't need to hear from me.
Boy, it's been pretty big and even looking at the investments coming out of the market today in AI technology, they, you know, continue to.
Astound us with these breathtaking deals.
AI and particularly anything to do with machine learning or data has been in quants my background and in financial services for a number of years.
We're simply moving to the next level with large language models and agentic AI.
So it is a critical part of most financial services.
In our case at ethos, we've got Something called AI cortex and the whole of the ethos platform is actually run by AI with AI building into it as it matures.
A lot of AI right now isn't market ready in financial services, certainly in regulated financial services.
We're unregulated currently in the crypto space other than the impending stable coin legislation to come, but a lot of the software now is proving fit for purpose in that market.
So what does It mean for customers, it just means it's easier.
You're getting best execution.
You're getting best prices, and it's easy to understand the crypto environment.
And finally, Lawrence, before I let you go, tell us what's next for Ethos Defi.
Well, Ethos DeFi team are knocking the ball out of the park.
They've got a number of products that I think make it easy for anyone to use crypto.
They've got a savings product coming up which is, you know, put Savings into USDC or Sable coins and yield.
They've got market accumulators coming up which allows you on a monthly basis to save and accumulate Bitcoin or ether or even tokenized gold, some of the assets that are performing in the market now.
But the real blockbuster is crypto indexes where you will be able to, in essence, trade your own ETFs or indexes in crypto, have them rebalanced and And get the benefit of a basket of diversified crypto exposures.
So I think between that and today the team's launching its AI team, which are personas to help consumers better understand and navigate the crypto journey.
That's what Ethos Dei is all about, and we're really excited about it.
OK, Lawrence, well, great to have you here.
Thank you so much for joining me to talk about the acquisition.
Thanks, Remy.
