Crypto’s march toward mainstream acceptance: Interview with Changelly CEO

Exploring the intersection of technology and user engagement, the CEO of a global crypto exchange outlines strategies for integrating new blockchain trends and enhancing digital asset exchanges.

The crypto sector has witnessed exponential growth over the past decade, transforming from a niche interest into a financial phenomenon. This evolution has been marked by the rise of digital currencies, the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and an increasing focus on blockchain technology’s potential to revolutionize industries beyond finance.

Amid this backdrop of innovation and change, Changelly has established itself as a prominent player, offering secure and efficient crypto-to-crypto and fiat-to-crypto exchanges to over 7 million users worldwide.

In this interview, Changelly CEO Jake Cormack — a seasoned fintech expert and global capital market specialist — shares his insights on steering the platform through the evolving crypto landscape, highlighting the importance of user-centric services and Changelly’s role in the broader industry’s growth.

Cointelegraph: Changelly is celebrating its ninth anniversary this year. How do you see the evolution of the crypto and broader blockchain industry over the last decade?

Jake Cormack: In the last decade, we witnessed Bitcoin’s rise, the birth of altcoins and the growth of the DeFi and nonfungible token (NFT) sectors that reshaped the landscape. Despite crypto winters, key market player crashes and the collapse of crypto-centric banks, the blockchain industry has persevered.

Today, institutional adoption has increased, although regulatory hurdles remain. Efforts have been made to address the scalability and interoperability of crypto solutions, while the high energy consumption of mining has raised environmental concerns. Overall, the industry has undergone a significant transformation propelled by technological innovation, expanding use cases of crypto and evolving regulatory landscapes.

CT: Comparing 2015 to today, what are the most significant changes in crypto users’ behavior?

JC: The top three changes include wider mainstream adoption of crypto globally, broadening use cases of digital assets and an expanded demographic getting involved in the crypto sector. We see a deeper understanding of the industry thanks to educational initiatives that upgrade user knowledge beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum. Besides, users started to prioritize security and custody solutions. Their regulatory awareness has also grown.

Due to the increasing demand for crypto payments, merchants across various industries are searching for payment partners. In response to this demand, we introduced Changelly PAY last year.

CT: From DeFi to NFTs to metaverse — the crypto industry is never short of innovation and new trends. As an established crypto exchange, how does Changelly adapt to these shifting trends?

JC: As a market veteran running this marathon for nine years, Changelly is driven to stay ahead of the curve, adapting to changing trends by expanding its product portfolio and list of supported cryptocurrencies and enhancing the customer experience. We have partnered with over 500 crypto companies across various industry niches, from Web3 gaming to pure DeFi, and we are always ready to dive into new areas.

As a CeDeFi ecosystem, Changelly aims to merge the best technologies and attributes of both financial systems, granting innovative and convenient Web3-based products with lower fees, improved security, greater accessibility, faster speed and optimized customization.

CT: What is your take on DeFi and decentralized exchanges (DEXs)? How do you work with them?

JC: We integrate with leading DeFi platforms and DEXs, facilitating effortless swaps of cryptocurrencies. We seek to explore partnerships and liquidity provision arrangements with DEXs to enhance execution optionality. By embracing DeFi and DEXs, Changelly aims to provide users with improved accessibility, digital asset management efficiency and the benefits of yield farming and decentralized trading.

CT: How would you describe the role of Changelly in the evolution of the crypto market?

JC: Being a team of early adopters by nature, Changelly welcomes and drives forward cryptocurrency adoption into the mainstream by providing a straightforward and secure platform for immediate exchange, specifically designed to assist novices in their first steps.

As we hit our nine-year anniversary, we are delighted to have onboarded over seven million users globally by providing them with the functionality to swap anything for anything across the most popular and trending cryptocurrencies, blockchains and trading pairs. Furthermore, Changelly is cultivating blockchain education with the free Crash Course initiative, equipping crypto newcomers with the knowledge to thrive in the Web3 economy era.

CT: What are some of the most requested features from crypto users, and how are you addressing them?

JC: User feedback is at our core, and we listen, learn and take action through our 24/7 live support, the customer experience optimization for our core exchange product never stops. Every month, we add over 20 new cryptocurrencies to cater to even the most diverse portfolios.

We’re dedicated to simplifying the exchange process through regular updates and enhancements to our UI/UX design, ensuring it’s user-friendly for all expertise levels. Finally, the safety of our users is paramount, and we uphold this by strictly adhering to security protocols and not storing user funds. Ever.

CT: What are the unique features and dynamics Changelly offers to stay ahead of this competitive sector?

JC: Stability, price and speed are our foundations which we deliver to our customers consistently, with no exceptions. These are underpinned by world-class security, smooth onboarding and dedicated 24/7 live support with an average response time of less than one minute — these principals have been in our very fabric since day one and continue to help us stay ahead as an operator. Our proprietary engine and governance have demonstrated outstanding market pressure resistance. For instance, Changelly provided stability to the USD Coin (USDC) even during its depegging last year.

A growing percentage of our audience is mature (over 50 years old), and I am confident that our platform’s usability contributes to their smooth onboarding. Moreover, we conform to AML standards and work with sanctioned agencies to ensure we help counter the bad actors in the space and illicit activities in crypto; that’s why we deploy considerable resources into thorough security checks and assist in returning stolen funds through our comprehensive Know Your Transaction (KYT) processes.

CT: Changelly is also known for its API solutions. Could you briefly explain what you offer to other crypto businesses?

JC: Changelly delivers API solutions that allow enterprises to integrate instant crypto exchange features into their platforms. With Changelly’s API, merchants can give their customers the convenience of swapping crypto right within their apps or websites, enriching the user experience and broadening the scope of services provided.

The API connects to Changelly’s liquidity pool and supports an extensive array of cryptocurrencies, ensuring versatility and ease of access. Trusted by many crypto industry leaders — including Ledger, Trezor, Exodus, Tonkeeper and Tangem — Changelly continuously expands the variety of available assets, improves pricing and offers 0% service and flexible exchange fees.

CT: What key milestones have you achieved over the past nine years?

JC: The most important thing to me is that Changelly has won the trust of over 500 partners and more than 7 million users across the world and continues to diversify its product portfolio and offerings for customers and partners. We operate in 150 countries, list 100,000 trading pairs and help businesses and customers benefit from the advantages of Web3 and blockchain.

Besides the APIs, we introduced the Changelly PAY merchant solution that offers custom crypto checkouts for more than 80 cryptocurrencies with instant settlement and flexible fee management. Fiat on-ramp is another product we added following our users’ demand.

CT: What are your future plans as a global trading platform?

JC: Our priorities are to level up our products, list more new tokens and serve users on a global scale. We are working on expanding our presence and reaching new markets with tailored offers. From a business-to-business perspective, Changelly will continue to grow the partner network for the exchange APIs and focus on merchant payment gateways and on-ramp and off-ramp solutions.