Wenia, Part of Bancolombia Group, Taps Chainlink To Increase Transparency of Its Stablecoin Backed 1:1 By The Colombian Peso

Wenia is live and in production with the integration of Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) for its COPW stablecoin. COPW is currently available in Colombia, with plans to expand in other countries and to list COPW on other Web3 platforms.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wenia—the new digital asset company from the Bancolombia Group, one of the largest financial conglomerates in Latin America—and Chainlink—the essential infrastructure for the tokenized asset economy—announced today that Wenia is live and in production using Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) to bring end-to-end transparency to the Colombian Peso reserves backing its COPW stablecoin.

Through this collaboration, COPW users on the Wenia platform gain access to Chainlink's secure and reliable onchain PoR data, enhancing visibility into the reserves backing the stablecoin. Chainlink PoR is integrated directly into the stablecoin's minting function, helping to protect users against the risk of infinite mint attacks where additional COPW is issued without sufficient available reserves. To ensure the accuracy of reserves data, Wenia employs third-party audits by Harris and Trotter adding an extra layer of assurance. As a result, Wenia users can now confidently buy, sell, and convert COPW to Bitcoin, Ethereum, MATIC, and USDC directly in the Wenia App.

"This initiative marks a significant milestone in Colombia's digital asset landscape, highlighting the growing adoption and integration of cryptocurrencies in the country's financial ecosystem," said Pablo Arboleda, CEO of Wenia. "Onchain Proof of Reserve data is a critical component to digital asset adoption, serving as a stepping stone toward increasing consumer confidence in using stablecoins and other tokenized assets. We chose Chainlink for its industry-leading platform, and we're excited by the potential of its technology to increase transparency, utility, and accessibility for our users now and in the future."

The Colombian crypto market has experienced substantial growth, particularly in the latter half of 2023, with stablecoins making up 31% of crypto acquisitions. According to research from Chainanalysis, it's estimated that the monthly crypto transactions in Colombia are around 200 million USD, making Colombia the 32nd-ranked nation in terms of crypto adoption in the world, and the fourth most crypto-active in Latin America. Due to the high demand for stablecoins and the risks associated with peer-to-peer transactions, users have been forced to pay additional costs in over-the-counter (OTC) marketplaces to mitigate these risks. The launch of COPW aims to address these issues by providing a secure and regulated digital asset platform.

"Chainlink is excited to provide end-to-end transparency for Wenia's Colombian Peso stablecoin reserves and help to protect its users from infinite mint attacks," said Angela Walker, Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs. "Underpinned by Chainlink's highly secure and reliable services, these digital asset initiatives from Wenia, a part of Bancolombia Group, can profoundly impact the lives of millions of Colombian citizens in a very powerful way. As the adoption of digital cash grows, Chainlink's essential tokenized asset infrastructure is critical for enhancing transparency, broadening utility, and increasing greater levels of crypto accessibility in Latin America."

In addition to providing onchain PoR data feeds, the collaboration is expected to expand to include Chainlink Price Feeds for accurate, reliable market data and CCIP for secure cross-chain interoperability.

About Wenia
Wenia is a Bancolombia Group new company that aims to create solutions that facilitate the adoption and use of digital assets and blockchain technology. The platform allows people to buy, convert, receive, send, and sell COPW to Bitcoin, Ether, MATIC, and digital dollar (USDC).

Wenia launched the COPW, the stablecoin backed by Colombian pesos in Polygon. Is still in its early stages and provides Wenia customers with the ability to seamlessly move in and out of fiat to cryptoassets within the Bancolombia Group ecosystem.

Through Wenia, Bancolombia Group is one of the first major financial institutions to launch a digital asset service to retail customers. With a goal of onboarding 60,000 users by the end of 2024.

About Chainlink
Chainlink is essential infrastructure for the tokenized asset economy, enabling financial institutions to develop customized, compliant, and future-proof blockchain applications. Chainlink powers tokenized assets throughout their entire lifecycle, enriching them with real-world data (e.g., NAV, AML/KYC, proof of reserves), providing secure interoperability between any private or public blockchain to increase liquidity, and synchronizing asset data between blockchains and existing systems to maintain a unified golden record.

Chainlink has securely enabled over $12 trillion in transaction value and delivered more than 12 billion onchain data points across the blockchain ecosystem. Major financial market infrastructures and institutional banks such as Swift, ANZ, Fidelity International, and many others have collaborated with Chainlink to successfully demonstrate how financial institutions can use existing infrastructure and messaging standards to interact with tokenized assets across any blockchain.

SOURCE Chainlink and Wenia