Map3 started with a mission to help make Crypto interoperability accessible to developers. After working in Crypto for nearly a decade, I’ve been particularly excited by the rapid rise in usage of cross-chain applications. When starting, I genuinely believed that we were at the right time in the market to make these innovations more accessible to Web 2 developers that were new to Web 3, particularly in the custodial Crypto and broader Fintech spaces.
However, things have materially changed since starting the company last summer. Centralized crypto providers have experienced significant failures and scrutiny. This has led to a big reduction in the number of “default alive” crypto firms and a massive slowdown of new participants in the market. It’s clear that due to the increased regulatory challenges, this is unlikely to change in the short term.
This doesn’t mean that Crypto is dead. If anything, the real use cases for Crypto remain as relevant as ever. The ability to self-custody and transact with others without trusting a middleman has seen continued adoption. Centralized platforms are reeking while DeFi is thriving.
We launched Map3 as a service to help crypto custodial apps streamline their treasury operations. After speaking to over 150 prospects and finding some market traction, we have come to the conclusion that we’re not yet solving a meaningful enough problem for our customers. Hence, we have made the decision to explore additional offerings.
We are actively exploring applying interoperability expertise to problems faced by self-custody and decentralized app developers. Outside of Crypto, we are also exploring venture-scale ideas in the adjacent areas of developer tools, identity and cybersecurity. The Map3 Supercharge SDK will remain available for existing paid customers for the next twelve months. Developers can also build on our open-source work.
Pivoting as a startup is never easy. We came to this decision as a team while we continue to be in a good position as a firm to build products people love. This change also means that my co-founders, Mark and Phil, have decided to step back and pursue other endeavours. We remain friends, and they will remain company advisors from the sidelines.
We want to thank our customers and investors for your support so far. Thank you for giving us a chance! We’re excited to make you proud of the work we continue to do and share the learnings in public along the way.
Stay tuned for updates on our additional offerings.
Onwards!