For David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nubank, Bitcoin is “different from everything else”. In a recent conversation with Fortune, the entrepreneur talked about cryptocurrencies, Pix, Drex and how he came up with the idea of creating a digital bank.
As a Colombian, Vélez remembers having one of the worst experiences of his life when he opened a bank account in Brazil. In addition to being stuck in a bulletproof revolving door, the entrepreneur said he had to return to the employment agency several times.
“Five of the ten largest Brazilian companies are banks, the largest companies in Mexico are banks, the largest companies in Colombia are banks”noted the founder of Nubank about his entry into this market. “I was very curious to understand this sector better.”
With the advent and popularity of smartphones in the early 2010s, Vélez saw a great opportunity. “You no longer need branches – branches on every corner – to compete with these banks”he noted.
Finally, Vélez also says that many Brazilian startups copied American companies, that is, they did not solve real problems. This made Nubank stand out, so much so that it was able to attract Sequoia’s attention during its first investment round.
Nubank founder talks about Bitcoin
David Vélez acknowledges that Nubank arrived a bit late in the cryptocurrency market, but that it takes a different approach than other companies.
Last year, the digital bank offered its customers access to investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum directly in its application. It later continued adding new cryptocurrency options, including three last month.
Before that, Nubank launched its own cryptocurrency, Nucoin, which ultimately “broke the internet” in August after surging 1,939% in less than 30 days.
“We are a little late to the game, but we are very focused on trying to distinguish between what is just pure speculation and what is real technology in the world of cryptocurrencies”said Vélez in an interview with Fortune. “I believe there are risks on both sides, if you think all or nothing makes sense in cryptocurrencies, you only see the extremes.”
“We believe Bitcoin is unlike anything else, and there are some other tokens that make sense.”
According to the founder of Nubank, 98% of cryptocurrencies are not real investment assets.
“We believe in Bitcoin as an asset that consumers should invest in and therefore offer a cryptocurrency investment platform.”
One of the reasons for Nubank to believe in the power of Bitcoin in Latin America is the inflation of local currencies. “We believe that offering Bitcoin or even stablecoins pegged to the US dollar is a way for customers to invest and protect their savings”Velez said.
Brazil is five years ahead of the US, says Nubank founder
Although David Vélez sees major problems with the devaluation of the Real, this does not prevent the entrepreneur from seeing the technological efforts of the Central Bank through Pix and, more recently, Drex.
“I believe that Pix allowed a country like Brazil to overtake developed economies like the US and Europe, probably putting Brazil five years ahead of the US.”
“If you look at a system like Pix that has effectively digitized or is digitizing the entire economy, it digitizes money, it increases financial inclusion and it does all of this for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”Vélez continued. “This is probably the biggest disruption, or one of the biggest disruptions, in the world’s financial services industry.”
Regarding Drex, the digital reality, Vélez notes that the blockchain-based system could introduce several interesting cases for the industry. As an example he mentioned guaranteed loans and the disappearance of notary offices.
David Vélez comments on his projections for the future
Concluding the interview with Fortune, Nubank’s founder mentioned four projections for the financial market. The first of these would be the digitalization of payments with interoperable, free and 24/7 transactions.
The second would be to create an application that brings together all your bank accounts in one place. According to Vélez, this would create more competition between banks, which would create better opportunities for users.
Like many entrepreneurs, the founder of Nubank also sees the artificial intelligence (AI) sector as the next step. As an example, he mentioned that AI can ensure that every customer has a “banker in his pocket”, who presents the benefits of each product and provides the necessary knowledge to potential investors.
Finally, the Nubank founder notes that cryptocurrencies are another technology to keep an eye on due to their numerous use cases, such as tracking, guarantees, and virtually free international money transfers.
“Eventually, global payments will look like a global Pix, where everyone will have access to payments and everyone will have access to digital money.”
Source: Live Coins

Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.