Jhonattan

Electronic Engineer. I develop hardware and software just for fun. Cryptoenthusiast ⛓ I know some things about payments in Latam.

[Santino. 🫡 @SantinoMiele]

Offramp shut down. Before we join the noise of "another crypto card that didn't make it," let's try to understand what really happened, and above all, what alternatives are still on the table today.

SPOILER ALERT: there's a list of crypto cards just as good or better than the one we just lost, and we'll get to it below. First, some context.

In markets like ours (Argentina, Bolivia, and other developing economies), crypto cards aren't a "nice to have." They solve three things traditional banking doesn't: exchange controls, tax pressure, and ridiculous fees for international transactions. The demand is there. The problem was never the demand.

The problem is something else, and it's more uncomfortable to say: many of these crypto neobanks and fintechs are failing to build a real comparative advantage against the rest.

And don't get me wrong, I love @OfframpXYZ. I've been using it practically since its launch, and I even have it set up to pay for my next Airbnb in Spain. The team is incredible, I had the chance to work with them last year, and I'm sure they'll surprise us with a new project soon.

But, since they all end up offering practically the same product at the beginning, they compete with the only hammer they have on hand (which is the same one that ends up hitting them over the head):

They burn funds to acquire users fast, show aggressive growth metrics, and reach the next investment round.

But that user base they "buy" through rewards isn't loyal, it's mercenary, and jumps to the next card as soon as someone offers half a point more in cashback. They never reach true product-market fit. They never build an active and sustainable base upon which to add features, iterate the product, and keep growing. And when the capital runs out, the music stops.

A caveat: cashback in itself isn't a bad strategy. It's a valid and very powerful tool to bootstrap a user base from scratch.

The key is knowing how to execute it and knowing when to exit it.

@ripioapp, @lemonapp_ar and @belo_app are the best local examples: they used aggressive cashback when they needed it, built a base with it, and when the numbers stopped adding up, they knew how to pivot toward their true added value, custody, on/off-ramps, local integrations, product ecosystem, and keep growing from there. That transition is what's truly difficult. Many don't make it. And that is the chapter where @OfframpXYZ is the latest entry.

Now, as promised: what alternatives are out there today, and what is each one building that's worth looking at.

Infra → @raincards isn't a card; it's the on-chain infrastructure that several of the best products in the market run on. If you like a card, chances are it runs on Rain. The least visible but most important player in the equation.

Ecosystems → @avax has been gaining traction fast in Latam with the Avalanche Card, leveraged by the entire AVAX community in the region. In the same league, @gnosis_ is pushing hard with @gnosispay, taking a different approach: European rails + self-custody and an "on-chain bank account" thesis that strongly differentiates it from the rest of the pack.

Native On-chain → @Exa_App on-chain, very fresh, aiming hard at the Argentine market. It recently launched its international card. It doesn't compete on cashback; it competes on product and the ability to get financing and buy in installments thanks to the infrastructure of its DeFi protocol (@ExactlyProtocol) . Along the same lines, the @MetaMask Card targets the user who doesn't want to deposit funds in a fintech and prefers to maintain self-custody + payments in the same wallet. Same underlying thesis: the advantage isn't in the reward, it's in the control.

Fintech + Crypto → @belo_app also launched an international card recently, leveraged on the fintech stack it already had. Advantage: real banking rails behind it, so it doesn't just rely on the crypto narrative. @TakenosApp is a solid option with history in the region.

And I'll add the list @AriEiberman shared today, because it covers well what's coming next: @minipay, @Plasma, @ether_fi, and soon @joinpeanut and @PulsarMoneyApp.

My take: those who survive this bloody market won't be the ones offering the most cashback. They will be the ones relying on defensible infra, the ones combining self-custody with fintech UX, and the ones who find a niche, geographical, type of user, or use-case, and truly defend it. The rest will just keep burning runway until the end.

👉 Would you like to learn more about the region's payment ecosystem, the intersection of traditional banking and blockchain-based solutions, how fintechs and neobanks are revolutionizing the industry, and hear from top leaders all in one place?

Join us this August 20th and 21st at the LATAM Digital Assets Conference in Buenos Aires, the institutional conference on tokenization, stablecoins, payments, and blockchain organized by @crecimientoar

Link to get your tickets in the next tweet 👇

[Adobe @Adobe]

Adobe for creativity + Claude 🤝

Now, Claude users can power their content with more than 50 Creative Cloud tools. Simply describe the outcome you want and let the assistant orchestrate workflows behind the scenes: https://t.co/G70cSsca8P

[Sawyer Hood @sawyerhood]

wtf chrome has vertical tabs now. finally

[Roni Bandini @RoniBandini]

Fabriqué un aparato para detectar Reggaeton en el parlante del vecino y atacarle el bluetooth. Mañana seguramente publico la demo y el código. 🔧🔇https://t.co/RGGpA5hUQd #reggaetonbegone

[dbrand @dbrand]

lmao @Casetify see you in court

https://t.co/kndz91YkNk

[Freddy Vega @freddier]

La aviación emite el 1.9% de los gases que contaminan al ambiente.
¿La aviación privada? 0.2%

Se habla mas de jets privados porque ayuda a distraer a la gente de las reales causas del cambio climático.

Hilo de mitos del calentamiento global 👇

[rileythedesigner @rileyj_s]

My life has improved by turning this off.

[Ian Zelbo @ianzelbo]

That is… empty

[Freddy Vega @freddier]

👍

[Jhonattan @jhonattantxt]

@DamianCatanzaro Buenísimo! Un par más, sólo por curiosidad: ¿fue fácil integrar el api? ¿Te pudiste homologar tú mismo o alguien te auditó? ¿Y qué ondas el proceso de firma de contrato y todo el papeleo? Sorry el interrogatorio eh jaja estoy por montar un proyectito y me recontra sirve la info!

[Jhonattan @jhonattantxt]

@agusstinabreu ¡Buenísimo! Para ser más precisos, una tarjeta es de 16 dígitos y en la vista general sólo debería mostrarse los últimos 4 dígitos, el resto es información sensible. Para que el usuario vea todos los datos en texto plano probablemente se necesito un SDK para ser PCI Compliance.

[Felix Lee @felixleezd]

Most Visually Stunning AI Sites!

I found AI websites that blew my mind with their breaking visual interface.

Here are 8 most stunning AI websites and why (GENIUS strategy):

[kirilbt @kirilbt]

Small experiment using Blender armature and Three.js.

Hand created thanks to sens_3d tutorial on youtube✌️

https://t.co/HlQCuVe0P1

#threejsJourney #threeJS #webgl #creativecoding

[Miguel Ángel Durán @midudev]

Mentalidad en programación a lo largo de los años:

[Jhonattan @jhonattantxt]

@ReadyPlayerKei @frngr @KeychronMK +1 😂 Alta foto se armó Flan.

[Wilson Wilson @euboid]

i don't need much

[TIC Educativas💻📱 @TicEducativas]

Las herramientas de #InteligenciaAArtificial y algunas otras más, que debes aprender a usar ya.
Créditos: @lcsolarte_

[Mark Suster @msuster]

1/ More in the VC community need to speak out publicly to quell the panic about @SVB_Financial ... I believe their CEO when he says they are solvent and not in violation of any banking ratios & goal was to raise & strengthen balance sheet

[Lorenzo Green 〰️ @mrgreen]

R.I.P web designers.

This is basically ChatGPT for UI design AND is editable in Figma.

Being a solo entrepreneur just got easier.