Being Compliant is the Key: Understanding the Growth of Fastex

Vakhtang Abrahamyan, CEO of Fastex, says exchanges today get an edge by following the rules.

There’s a new art gallery in Yerevan, Armenia. You’ll find a sleek space, tasteful lighting, and creative works of art. Sculptures that look like eyeballs are emblazoned with bursts of color — fiery reds, bold yellows, soothing blues.

But there’s a twist. Each eyeball is linked to a corresponding NFT, meaning it’s a blend of the physical and the digital.

The art galleries are “phygital.” The eyeballs are a project called “AKNEYE,” and the galleries were launched by ftNFT, part of the rapidly growing Fastex ecosystem.

If you’re an artist, you can use the eyes of AKNEYE as a new kind of canvas, combining physical sculptures with immersive elements like LCD screens, surreal lighting, and the metaverse. This is not just theoretical. Across over 20 countries, artists are using AKNEYE to create, share, and monetize their work. And at the phygital galleries themselves (also in Venice and Dubai), young artists can learn about the new tools of Web3. They can take a class on drawing and then a class on technology.

“They learn business as well, because the [NFT] marketplace is there,” says Vakhtang Abrahamyan, CEO of Fastex. “Once they create some art, they create a digital twin in the form of an NFT, and then put it on the marketplace for sale.”

Or in other words, “starving artists” no longer need to starve.

Fast Expansion

The phygital galleries and NFT marketplace are just two corners of the larger Fastex universe, which has grown, well, fast since its launch in 2022. Their sprawling suite of Web3 tools now includes the Fastex Exchange, the Fastex Wallet (which can hold NFTs), the Fastex Card (a digital and physical debit card), a business-friendly “Fastexverse” metaverse, and the Bahamut blockchain that features a unique “Proof-of-Stake-and-Activity” mechanism.

All of this starts with a robust approach to regulatory compliance. “Being compliant is the key,” says Abrahamyan, who knows a thing or two about regulation, as he was once the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia. “The regulation is becoming more and more clear and transparent for us, which for the business is very good for the long-term strategy.”

Abrahamyan knows that crypto is no longer the Wild Wild West. You get an edge by following the rules — something not every exchange does. “We work closely with regulators from all over the world,” says Abrahamyan, adding that Fastex will be compliant with the new EU MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) framework, as well as regulations from Armenia and the United Arab Emirates.

Larger Fastex ambitions? “Conquering the world, I would say,” jokes Abrahamyan.

That conquering starts with the Bahamut blockchain, which already has 6 million wallets. It aims to operate at warp-speed, putting the fast in Fastex. The key innovation is their “Proof-of-Stake-and-Activity” mechanism, separating Bahamut from other chains. With Proof of Work (like Bitcoin), you need massive computing power. With Proof of Stake (like Ethereum), you need to pledge your assets. But proof of activity? “Activity is basically the gas that people spend when interacting with smart contracts,” says Pavel Aramyan, Blockchain Program Lead at Fasttoken. “The whole idea is that if you’re a validator on Bahamut, and you also have a smart contract-based application, the activity counts towards your chance of producing new blocks in the future.”

DeFi + TradFi

A new Caucasus Layer 2 looks to unleash a gamut of new DeFi apps, and the new “Fastex card” — via Mastercard and Visa — lets people spend cryptocurrency at places like restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores.

Abrahamyan sees that kind of collaboration as the future of Web3. “Major banks are moving into blockchain. Visa, Mastercard are exploring the options for payments,” says Abrahamyan. “I do see the cooperation with traditional financial institutions as a good opportunity for us,” and this can “transform the existing financial services.”

And the key to unlocking that future, of course, is clarity of regulations. Fastex sees clear regulation as requiring patience, yes, but ultimately something that’s inevitable. “It’s going slow, but it’s moving forward,” says Vardan Khachatryan, Fastex’s Chief Legal Officer. Khachatryan says there’s progress across much of the world…with the U.S. as a notable exception.

While the emerging regulatory frameworks might not be perfect, says Khachatryan, they are at least providing the clarity that’s needed to legally operate. And that’s gaining momentum. “Everybody — regulators, banks, and all the other players — need to understand that crypto is here,” says Khachatryan. “And it’s going to be here. And it’s getting bigger.”

The same can be said of Fastex, from the NFT “eyeball sculptures” to the exchange to the debit card. Next up: Conquering the world.

Go deeper into the Fastex world with our on-location interviews in Armenia, where we sit down with Abrahamyan, Khachatryan, and other leaders from the Fastex universe.