Summary

Breakpoint 2023 introduced the cutting-edge payment platform Sling, designed to harness the full capabilities of Solana's blockchain for instant and nearly fee-less global transactions. Mike, the founder and previous team lead at Facebook and a banking innovator at Monzo, reveals how Sling combines the power of cryptocurrencies with the accessibility and user-friendliness of traditional banking. This platform comes as a transformative player in the financial sector, aiming to simplify the process of transferring money globally, whether it’s as close as a neighbor or as far as a different continent, working around the current constraints of traditional banking systems.

Key Points:

Introduction to Sling and Solana

Mike introduced Sling, a global payment platform that takes full advantage of Solana's blockchain technology to offer instant and nearly cost-free transfers all around the world. The platform aims to deliver a seamless user experience, eliminating the cumbersome processes found in traditional banking.

Mike's Path to Building Sling

Mike delved into his background, sharing his journey from working on product teams at Facebook to co-founding the digital bank Monzo. His experience in both social software and financial product development has led to the creation of Sling, which is his response to the sluggish and costly traditional financial systems he once helped to sustain.

The Need for Global Payment Revolution

Highlighting the inefficiencies of current payment systems, Mike showcased the power of blockchain in executing immediate transactions across borders, the catalyst for Sling. Comparing it to royalties in music transforming from cumbersome CD purchases to streaming services, he explained that the same transformation is now technically possible with money.

Building Sling's Infrastructure

Mike went into detail about the principles and structural components that shape Sling. He emphasized the importance of self-custody, where users have full control over their funds. Much of Sling’s functionality resides in the client-side application, making the service cost-efficient and easy to scale globally.

Facts + Figures

• Mike, a former Facebook and Monzo employee, is the founder of Sling.
• Sling is only technically viable thanks to the blockchain capabilities offered by Solana.
• The platform facilitates nearly free transactions, requiring less than a penny for a transfer that traditional services charge much more for and take longer to process.
• Mike bought Bitcoin a decade ago but only delved deeply into blockchain in recent years.
• Traditional transfers of $100 can take until the next business day and cost significantly, while Sling can do it almost instantly.
• Sling uses stablecoins like USDC to facilitate transactions, addressing the volatility often associated with cryptocurrencies.
• Sling is a self-custodial wallet backed up by a service called EverVault.
• It’s operational in roughly 30 countries, with expansions planned in other regions.
• Transfers to non-Sling users can happen through a link, creating a one-time use self-custodial wallet with keys embedded in the URL.

Top quotes

• "Like there's literally no way that you could build this without Solana."
• "Once you see what Solana and stablecoins are capable of, you hit this point where you imagine what the world would be like if this were mainstream."
• "It's like a beautiful thing to just do for people to build a product that allows them to take their money and go to some other app, whatever instantly."
• "We want to build an app which is like the money button on your phone where you know that you can send to anyone and it's just going to work."
• "This is going to happen. And it's a really beautiful moment where we just have this privilege of building the future."

Questions Answered

What is Sling?

Sling is a global payment platform that capitalizes on the technology of the Solana blockchain to enable instant and nearly free money transfers across the world. It is designed to be user-friendly, allowing people to transact without the complexity traditionally associated with blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Why is Sling only possible with Solana?

Solana provides the necessary infrastructure that allows for near-instantaneous transactions with minimal fees, a foundational feature that is critical for Sling's operation. This blockchain's capabilities are unique, including high throughput and low cost, which are not available with other blockchain technologies to the same degree.

How does Sling improve upon traditional money transfer methods?

Sling significantly cuts down the time and cost needed to transfer money. Traditional services can be expensive and slow, taking days to complete an international transfer with sizable fees. Sling, conversely, facilitates these transactions nearly instantly and for a fraction of the cost, using powerful infrastructure innovations provided by Solana's blockchain.

How does Sling assure users' control over their funds?

Sling is built on a principle of self-custody, ensuring that users have total ownership and control over their money. It achieves this by utilizing blockchain technology, which allows individuals to have their private keys and the freedom to transfer their wallet to another service if desired.

What does the future hold for Sling?

With Sling currently live in about 30 countries, the platform has an ambitious roadmap to expand globally. It aims to be universal, enabling anyone, regardless of location, to send and receive money with ease. The future of Sling is geared towards breaking down the barriers in global finance, democratizing access to swift and secure financial transactions.