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Zebec Protocol

Fintech · San Francisco, United States · Founded 2021

Zebec Protocol, founded in 2021 by Sam Thapaliya and headquartered in San Francisco, is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol engineered to facilitate real-time, continuous money streams. The company was established to address inherent inefficiencies within traditional financial systems, such as delayed settlements and the reliance on intermediaries. Thapaliya, a programmer since age 13 who grew up in Nepal during its civil war, envisioned a system where money could move as seamlessly as information. This perspective, shaped by his early experiences with p2p microfinance and a move to Silicon Valley for his computer science education, directly influenced Zebec's mission to make finance more immediate and programmable. The company has secured significant financial backing, raising a total of $29.5 million over five rounds from investors including Solana Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Circle, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The core of Zebec's business is its continuous settlement protocol, initially built on the Solana blockchain, which enables financial transactions like payroll, investments, and payments to be settled by the second rather than in traditional batch cycles. This model serves both Web2 and Web3 companies, from small businesses to large enterprises, by transforming how they manage cash flow and compensate their workforce. The company generates revenue through fees for using its products and offers discounts for staking its native token. The protocol has expanded to be multi-chain, operating across networks like Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base to broaden its interoperability. The flagship product, Zebec Pay, is a tax-compliant, on-chain payroll processing system that allows employees to be paid in stablecoins like USDC in real-time. This gives employees instant access to their earnings, which they can then convert to fiat, invest in cryptocurrency, or allocate to crypto IRA and 401(k) accounts. Further extending its ecosystem, Zebec offers Zebec Safe for multi-signature treasury management, and the Zebec Card, a debit card that allows users to spend their streamed funds directly. The company is also venturing into physical infrastructure with a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), integrating its payment systems with proprietary Point of Sale (PoS) devices to bridge the gap between digital and real-world transactions. Keywords: continuous settlement, real-time payroll, money streaming, DeFi protocol, Solana, on-chain payments, treasury management, DePIN, programmable cash flow, Zebec Pay, Sam Thapaliya, stablecoin payments, cross-border payments, financial infrastructure, web3 payroll, token vesting, payment streams, crypto 401k, multi-chain payments, decentralized finance solutions, Zebec Safe, blockchain payroll, instant payments, USDC payroll, financial transaction protocol