The consumer price index in the United States reached a 40-year high in December, finishing off a year of rapid price hikes.
Seashell, a fintech firm, has acquired $6 million in seed funding from some of cryptocurrency’s largest venture funds and project creators in order to construct an inflation-resistant banking software – a timely move as customers deal with the demands of growing expenses.
Khosla Ventures and Kindred Ventures co-led the round, with participation from Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev, billionaire investor Mark Cuban, former US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo, and Coinbase Ventures. Among the investors were the founders of crypto-focused enterprises Terra, Polygon, Avalanche, and Solana.
Seashell is introducing a consumer app that will provide customers with an easy way to earn bigger returns on their investments. According to the company, its Seashell Save programme offers users up to 10% interest on their funds, with flexible redemption possibilities. The app is accessible for both iOS and Android devices.
Despite not being a DeFi product, company founder and CEO Daryl Hok, who also served as executive vice president and chief operational officer at blockchain security firm CertiK, told that the app produces revenue from “on-chain and off-chain sources.” He went on to say:
“Similar to how traditional banks put customer money to work by loaning out the funds, Seashell invests customer money across DeFi protocols and off-chain lending to generate higher yields for its users.”
Despite the fact that Seashell is not built on the blockchain, the app may appeal to savers who are concerned about inflation and the erosion of their purchasing power.
Over the last six months, governments have struggled to keep rising costs under control. Although governments have blamed price increases on supply shortages, the more obvious cause is an expanding money supply. The Federal Reserve of the United States, for example, has printed more money in the last two years than in the whole history of the country.
Cost pressures rose again in December, with the consumer price index, or CPI, in the United States jumping 0.5 percent during the month to a total of 7 percent year on year. This was the largest year-over-year increase since 1982. According to Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, “there is still great momentum when it comes to inflation right now,” adding that price hikes are likely to peak in the coming months.
