Router Protocol helps move liquidity like bridges move people

Good morning!

With major metropolitan cities across the world turning into bustling and congested concrete jungles, satellite cities and adjacent towns have cropped up to provide them relief with roads, highways, bridges, and other infrastructures for the smooth movement of people between cities and urban localities.

For serial entrepreneur Ramani ‘Ram’ Ramachandran, the same analogy works in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. 

In fact, the need for bridging infrastructure has shaped the concepts behind his Singapore-based blockchain venture Router Protocol, a cross-chain liquidity aggregation protocol, and Dfyn Network, a multi-chain decentralised exchange live on Polygon.

“After Ethereum became popular due to its smart contract functionality, it started seeing a lot of congestion. People started helping it scale and built Layer 2 blockchains. Here is where Router comes in. Like roads and bridges help people move, Router helps liquidity move from chain to chain in a seamless manner,” explains Ram.

With Router, Ram is building bridging infrastructure to allow contract level data flow across various blockchains, thus enabling asset-level data transfer.

In an interaction with YourStory CEO and Founder Shradha Sharma, he explains why he remains bullish on the future of blockchain innovation in India and the world. 

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For ex-Snapdeal engineer and serial entrepreneur Shubhanshu Srivastava, his entire career path has been built on the ongoing learning curve achieved with experience. 

He successfully exited from his first venture, Orobind Technologies, which was acquired by HouseJoy in 2016. Shubhanshu is currently building a global remote hiring platform Crewscale for developers to bridge the talent gap for deep tech-focussed organisations across the globe. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

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In 2013, Mansi Gupta started Tjori in Delhi-NCR with personal savings of Rs 10 lakh. A Wharton University graduate, Mansi saw huge demand for Indian handicrafts abroad but did not see many Indian brands fulfil this need. 

Thus, Tjori was established as a multi-category, online-first artisanal ethnic brand comprising apparel, wellness, home, and mother and child products. The startup also focuses on traditional and heritage handicrafts of India. Read more.

News & Updates

• Jeff Bezos transitions from an active role at Amazon to a non-operational role as Executive Chair. AWS Chief Andy Jassy will replace him as the CEO of the retail-to-tech behemoth.

• Paytm said it will now offer loans starting from Rs 250 to Rs 1,000 as part of its buy now, pay later service, Paytm Postpaid, in addition to credit up to Rs 60,000. The small-ticket loans will be interest-free for up to 30 days and can be used at online and offline merchant stores.

• TVS Automobile Solutions has announced the acquisition of Chennai headquartered startup GoBumpr, an online aggregator of two- and four-wheeler service outlets, for an undisclosed value.

• In a stock exchange filing, Info Edge has notified that it has slashed the offer for sale (OFS) in the Zomato IPO by half to Rs 375 crore from the initial plan to sell shares worth Rs 750 crore. Info Edge is the largest shareholder in foodtech unicorn Zomato with an 18.55 percent stake.

• Digital entertainment company Pocket Aces announced the elevation of co-founder Aditi Shrivastava to the newly-created position of CEO. Previously, Shrivastava spearheaded revenue expansion, set up the influencer management division, and also led the growth of Dice Media.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“In India, there is a ton of programming talent that lends itself naturally to this (blockchain) space. We’ve seen many Indians living elsewhere spearheading exciting blockchain projects in decentralised finance (DeFi). So, it is imperative that we do not lose this race.”

— Ramani ‘Ram’ Ramachandran, CEO, Router Protocol

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