Ultimate Wallet now available in German app store

BERLIN, 17 MAY 2023: DeFi's "Ultimate" wallet is now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in Germany, albeit with reduced functionality. The full version of Ultimate launched globally in November 2022 and offers its users an intuitive wallet from which to self-custody assets and access the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). The German version does not currently offer natively integrated swap functionality - discussions with the German financial regulator BaFin on this issue are ongoing.

Unstoppable Finance founders Max von Wallenberg-Pachaly, Peter Grosskopf and Omid Aladini are well-known entrepreneurs in Germany and have established good relationships with regulators to educate about blockchain and DeFi technology. Co-founder Peter Grosskopf is an active member of the Digital Finance Forum - a group of experts advising the German Federal Ministry of Finance - and continuously advocates for DeFi in interviews and conferences across Germany and Europe.

"In 2013, BaFin became one of the first regulators to address Bitcoin and regulate virtual currencies under the German Banking Act (KWG). As a result, many crypto companies left Germany. Others established their businesses outside of Germany and chose to offer their services through reverse solicitation. Companies, jobs and tax revenues thus shifted abroad. History is likely to repeat itself when it comes to DeFi, where protocols are built on a decentralized stack and can be accessed via wallets like Ultimate. Ultimate’s swap functionality is based on these decentralized trading venues. Even though the swap components work very differently than in the traditional world, the functionality has been classified as regulated activity. This classification may have serious consequences for various projects from Germany, which now have to check whether other countries are more suitable for their offerings. We broadly understand BaFin's arguments, but these DeFi-specific technologies require a more nuanced approach and should lead to bespoke guidelines," says Peter Grosskopf, co-founder and CTO.

Peter Grosskopf goes on to explain that, in principle, Unstoppable Finance is not afraid to apply for a license. But today, this would have a significant disadvantage, as a regulated investment intermediary has to collect KYC data from users and comply with additional rules (BAIT et al). He goes on to say, "Currently we as a Wallet are 100% compliant with regulations, even without performing KYC for our users, as it’s not required under AMLR and TFR regulations. Beginning to collect KYC data would put us at a severe disadvantage compared to competing providers who continue to offer their services in Germany via reverse solicitation, without a license or KYC. Our goal is to offer the full version of our app in our home country. If this requires going abroad, this is a sad consequence."

The Ultimate Wallet, even in its limited German version, nevertheless outdoes the competition in many aspects. Users have access to unique features such as tracking wallets, viewing portfolio history, and viewing real time prices and candlestick charts of over 10,000 tokens on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. In addition, users can interact with L2s, and Wallet Connect and an upcoming dApp browser will allow users to link their wallet to decentralized exchanges (DEXes) and other DeFi protocols.

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About Unstoppable Finance / Ultimate

Unstoppable Finance's mission is to bring the financial opportunities of the decentralized economy to people around the world. Our first product "Ultimate" is a self-custody wallet for mobile that allows trading tokens and interacting with DeFi protocols on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Ultimate is available at get.ultimate.app. Other services will follow.

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