Zebec Protocol Launches on Solana Offering Flexible Payroll

Zebec Payroll allows workers to be paid by the second with USDC or other stablecoins.

AccessTimeIconNov 10, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 6:02 p.m. UTC
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Zebec Protocol announced that it launched on the Solana blockchain and raised a $6 million funding round co-led by Republic Capital. The protocol enables real-time, continuous money streams for financial transactions including payroll, payments, investments and purchases.

Zebec Protocol’s first application is Zebec Payroll, a tax compliant on-chain processing system that allows workers to be paid by the second based on their pay rate in USDC or other stablecoins. Employees have the option to withdraw all of the money, automatically convert a portion of their paycheck into top cryptocurrencies or allocate funds to compliant crypto IRA and 401k account.

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  • How it works

    Payers connect with Zebec using Phantom Wallet, enter the recipient’s wallet address and then start streaming the funds. The recipient receives the funds in their stream wallet and can withdraw the balance to turn it into real-world cash. Throughout the process, Zebec handles the money completely on-chain.

    The Solana blockchain can power up to 50,000 transactions per second for relatively low fees. Zebec says a new cash stream on the protocol can be established in minutes for a Solana transaction, or “gas,” fee of a fraction of a cent.

    “What we are basically enabling is making money continuous,” Zebec CEO Sam Thapaliya told CoinDesk in an interview. “Imagine I send you $100 over 10 days, and you’re receiving money every single second. It makes money programmable. It makes money a continuous flow and enables completely new possibilities for how money can function in the world.”

    Funding round

    The funding round led by Republic Capital, Shima Capital and Breyer Capital with participation from Resolute Ventures, Launchpad Capital, Backend Capital, Meltem Demirors, Gemini Frontier Fund, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Wave 7, Cadenza Ventures, Hack VC and Joe McCann. Thapaliya told CoinDesk that half of the funding will go towards increasing Zebec’s developer ecosystem. The rest will help get the product out as fast as possible and with as many features as possible.

    “The growth of the digital economy has been hindered by a lack of tax-compliant, frictionless payment processing technologies. Zebec finally makes it easy for anyone to send and receive cash in real time without intermediaries, delays or risks of non payment,” said Republic Capital co-founder and Managing Director Christian Sullivan in the press release.

    What’s next

    Zebec’s near-term plans include getting the product out, a private sale in December and a public sale in February, Thapaliya said. The company is also gearing up for its SHIP 2021 hackathon, sponsored by the Solana Foundation, which encourages developers and hackers to build products on the protocol.

    The ultimate goal is to take Zebec global. Thapaliya was born during the civil war in Nepal and grew up without access to bank accounts.

    “I lived through a couple of dictators, a couple of communist rulers. And the one thing that was not there for us was bank accounts,” Thapaliya said.

    “I hope to make [this product] global so that one day everyone in the world is able to get access to capital in real time without middlemen withholding money and taking cuts,” he added.

    UPDATE (Nov. 10, 17:47 UTC): Updated amount of funding round from $5.5 million to $6 million and added investors.

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    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Brandy Betz

    Brandy covered crypto-related venture capital deals for CoinDesk.


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