When crypto first began gaining prominence it was hailed as a digital currency that could potentially replace fiat money. Since that initial description, crypto has evolved and grown and is no longer viewed as simply a digital currency that can be used to purchase goods.
The use case for crypto has expanded to include stores of value, stable coins, utility tokens, and much more. Although the primary purpose for crypto may have changed, the viewpoint and goal of using crypto as a form of payment still does exist amongst some people and projects.
One company that is hoping to increase global acceptance of crypto as a payment method is Pundi X (PUNDIX), a payment service provider that allows retailers to accept both crypto and traditional forms of payment.
What is Pundi X?
Pundi X is a crypto point-of-sale company that creates a seamless process for users to pay for products and services using crypto. At the core of Pundi X are three products:
- A contactless smart card (XPass Card)
- A digital app & mobile wallet (XWallet)
- A point-of-sale terminal (XPOS)
How Does Pundi X Work?
XPOS Terminal
The XPOS Terminal is a handheld point-of-sales device, like a credit card payment terminal, that allows retailers to accept payments with both crypto and fiat. For fiat currency, the XPOS terminal accepts credit cards, debit cards, and various mobile payment methods like Alipay and Paypal.
Crypto payments can be done via the XPass Card or XWallet Mobile Application. The XPOS Terminal also allows users to reload their XPass Card with crypto and serves as a top-up machine that allows users to buy crypto for their XPass Card.
The XPOS terminal accepts a wide range of cryptocurrencies and facilitates the conversion of these cryptocurrencies into local fiat according to the vendor’s stipulations.
XPOS Terminal (Source: Pundi X Blog)
XPass Card
The XPass is a physical multi-currency card that allows users to make purchases with crypto. The card functions like a reloadable debit card, but for cryptocurrency. Users must load the XPass Card with crypto, which can be done at the XPOS terminals – only after which they can begin using the card to pay for products and services. The XPass, unlike the XWallet Mobile App, can be used offline, thus it provides users with a backup in case their phone does not have service or battery.
XPass Card (Source: Pundi X Twitter)
XWallet Mobile App
The XWallet Mobile App allows users to pay for purchases with crypto from the convenience of their phones. Users can use the XWallet as a contactless payment method at XPOS Terminals and allows users to pay with crypto without carrying around a physical card.
PUNDIX Token
The PUNDIX token is Pundi X’s native token. The token’s primary purpose is to pay for network fees. PUNDIX is used as Gas for the Pundi X Network, requiring users to pay a small fee every time they transact with the network. The token’s value is thus tied directly to network usage and drives most of its value from the number of users and vendors on the network. If Pundi X’s total users and vendors increase, the PUNDIX token should see a corresponding price increase.
Who Is Behind Pundi X?
Pundi X was founded by Zac Cheah (CEO) and Danny Lim (CFO). Zac Cheah earned his Master’s in Computing at Sweden KTH and has worked for Opera, W3C, and Wozlla before founding Pundi X.
Danny Lim earned his JD and Masters in Accounting at Tsinghua University in Beijing and worked for Baidu, Wozlla, and Lenovo prior to founding Pundi X.
Outside of the two founders, other important members of the Pundi X team include Constantin Papadimitriou (President), a computer scientist with fintech experience, and David Ben Kay (Chief Legal Counsel), who earned his JD from UCLA and has an impressive array of experiences working for Microsoft China and serving on the Ethereum Foundation’s board.
Pundi X raised $35 million in total through its ICO and several rounds of seed investment. Pundi X has developed a strong list of strategic partners including a wide array of blockchains, wallets, and payment providers. Some of their most prominent partners include: Polygon, Trezor, Coinbase Wallet, Metamask, Ledger, Chainlink, Ali Pay, Mastercard and more.
PUNDIX Coin Price History
PUNDIX’s token has not performed well over the past few years and has seen a substantial drop from its all-time high of $6.20 in April 2021, a month after it debuted. Even during the massive price run-up of the crypto industry in the fall of 2021, which saw the overall crypto market increase drastically, PUNDIX struggled and saw relatively moderate gains.
These struggles can be attributed to a wide variety of factors including:
- Fierce competition in the market for crypto payment systems
- A lack of utility for the PUNDIX token
- Overall lack of demand for crypto payments stemming from lack of users and vendors who have joined the network. Without an increasing user base and network usage, the PUNDIX token lacks tangible value and will likely continue to decline in price.
It is also worth noting that although the PUNDIX token debuted in 2021, the Pundi X project started back in 2017 and used to operate with a different native token (NXPS).
However, in 2021, Pundi X launched a token swap and redenomination that saw NXPS holders have their tokens swapped at a 1000:1 ratio for the new PUNDIX token. The current iteration of Pundi X and the current token PUNDIX is what is important to focus on.
Pundi X all-time price history (Source: Coinmarketcap)
PUNDIX has been trading at below $1 for pretty much the entire year of 2022, about 85% down from its peak, but so has most other altcoins during the bear market of 2022. It is currently trading at $0.52 with a circulating supply of 258 million tokens for a market cap of $136.6 million.
What Is the Future of Pundi X?
There are several major factors that will influence Pundi X’s future success. These include:
Distribution of XPOS Terminals
One of the major strategic failures of Pundi X has been its inability to create and distribute its XPOS terminals. Pundi X’s XPOS terminals are the key to the project’s success. These terminals are the backbone of the project and the piece of technology that facilitates all the crypto transactions. The expansion of XPOS is also the key to Pundi X gaining new users, generating more PUNDIX fees, and seeing PUNDIX price appreciation.
After an initial promise of distributing 100,000 XPOS terminals by 2021, they have instead only succeeded in activating a little over 1,000 terminals, which is simply not enough vendors to create any meaningful impact or incentivize users to use Pundi X.
Regulations
Another issue that is preventing Pundi X from succeeding is local regulations. Many vendors in various countries–especially those in Asia where Pundi X is prioritizing its expansion, are facing regulatory issues in accepting cryptocurrency as payment.
Overall, the current state of regulations and the high number of countries that are unreceptive to crypto is undoubtedly hindering broader crypto adoption as a payment and is affecting Pundi X’s ability to succeed.
However, crypto regulations are continually changing and there is definitely a chance that the currently unfriendly markets may become more receptive to crypto payments in the future. Regulations will play a major role in determining whether Pundi X and other crypto payment services can succeed in the long run.
Consumer Adoption
Currently, many people simply do not want to pay with crypto or accept crypto as payment. For many consumers, crypto is still too confusing and volatile to be used or accepted as payment. Even some of Crypto’s most ardent supporters and holders do not want to spend their crypto and would prefer to HODL in anticipation of future appreciation. Whether consumer sentiment towards using crypto as payment changes will play a large role in influencing Pundi X’s success in the future.
Future Plans
Pundi X has released a detailed breakdown of their plans for 2022. Some of their plans include:
- Producing and testing decentralized XPASS cards
- Supporting more tokens for on-chain transactions and XPOS transactions
- Developing a mobile XPOS module
- Continuing the expansion of their distribution network of XPOS terminals
- Growing XPOS distribution in Latin America and Europe
Where To Buy PUNDIX?
Phemex offers both spot and contract trading for investors to choose from. However, for beginning crypto buyers, spot trading is recommended. To buy PUNDIX on Phemex, follow the instructions below.
- The first step to buying cryptocurrency on Phemex is to go to the Phemex homepage, register for an account, and select Markets.
- On the Markets tab enter PUNDIX into the search bar on the top right, immediately after, the PUNDIX/USDT trading pair will appear below – select Trade to move on to the next step.
- You will then be redirected to the Phemex trading platform for the PUNDIX/USDT pair. To do a simple spot trade we recommend doing a market order where you can buy PUNDIX at the market price. To do so, select Market, enter the amount of USDT you want to buy of PUNDIX, and click Buy PUNDIX.
Conclusion
Pundi X faces some challenges especially in the area of regulation. However, it has a strong product and value proposition, and is well-positioned to succeed if crypto payments become more widely adopted in the future.
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