Israeli startup Kima is running a project with Mastercard's FinSec Innovation Lab to connect decentralised finance (DeFi) applications with fiat systems.
Kima, which describes itself as an asset-agnostic, peer-to-peer money transfer and payment protocol, has secured a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority to fund the plan.
The startup and the FinSec lab will focus on developing a use case linking traditional financial instruments, such as bank accounts and credit cards, to DeFi protocols, platforms, and services.
The collaboration aims to expand on Kima’s existing payment protocol — which facilitates direct money transfers via blockchain and bank accounts without using smart contracts.
As part of the project, FinSec will operate a Kima node and serve as a stakeholder in its burgeoning cross-ecosystem network.
Eitan Katz, CEO, Kima, says: “The only way blockchain and DeFi will become fixtures outside the niche world of Web3 is if there is an easily accessible, secure, and affordable way to bridge blockchain networks with traditional financial means."