The traditional Web2 payments model relies on intermediaries such as banks and payment networks, which means high fees, delayed settlements, and less privacy for users. Enter Web3 payments — a blockchain-based technology that eliminates these middlemen and facilitates direct transactions between users and merchants, which is generally faster, easier, and less expensive. Our mission at Helio is to accelerate the adoption of Web3 payments and bring its benefits to hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
A Successful Funding Round: Fuelling Growth and Innovation
Our recent funding round of $3.3 million reflects strong validation for both Web3 payments and our unique approach. Unlike first-generation crypto payment gateways, like Coinbase Commerce which focuses on “custodial experiences” for traditional merchants, Helio targets fully decentralised payment experiences optimised for merchants, creators and marketplaces. This means anyone with a crypto wallet like MetaMask or Phantom can start accepting payments via Helio in minutes without a dependency on any financial institution, while retaining a friendly & easy experience.
We are fortunate to have secured the perfect mix of Web2 marketplace/payments and Web3 expertise among our seed investors: PEAK, Lightspeed Faction, RockawayX, and Solana. The proceeds of the round will be used to expand our sales, marketing, and engineering teams, establish partnerships with creator platforms and marketplaces, and further our multi-chain strategy.
Future Outlook: Expanding Our Reach and Impact
Currently, Helio has served approximately 1,000 merchant customers and reached 40,000 users, with an annual run-rate Total Payment Volume (TPV) of ~$25M. Our goal is to quadruple our TPV to $100M within the next 12 months, and we have identified four key areas of growth:
Helio Play: Revolutionizing Content Monetization
Our Web3 content paywall feature, Helio Play, empowers creators to monetize content in a novel way. Users can instantly unlock and pay for content with micropayments and a single tap of their wallet, saving time and eliminating friction compared to traditional payment methods. We also offer direct integration options into existing media & streaming platforms.
E-commerce
Online stores can spin-up a Web3 e-commerce page in seconds using our “no-code” checkouts or embed payments using our API & libraries. Integrations and plug-ins with Shopify & WooCommerce make it easy for established stores to get started with crypto payments.
The NFT space
The NFT market has grown from 0 to +$20b in just a few years. Our payment tools are highly popular among NFT projects for various workflows, including NFT pre-sales, OTC sales, Discord payments, subscriptions, token sales, and merchandise. We are working on various new features and partnerships in this space to scale our reach by a factor of 10x.
Multi-Chain Expansion
The bulk of our merchant customers originate from the Solana ecosystem which is a close-knit community known for its tech savvy and fast paced culture. After launching our multi-chain payments platform with support for Ethereum and Polygon in Q1, we aim to become the go-to solution for Ethereum, Polygon, Solana payments (and a number of other blockchains) in a single app.Building a Strong Community in the Ethereum Ecosystem
Our rapid growth in the Solana community has been invaluable and HelioX (the pro-version of Helio), which requires membership via our NFT, has already attracted over 2.5k unique holders on Solana. We now plan to replicate this community-led go-to-market strategy in the Ethereum ecosystem and see this as a marketing effort, not a fund raising exercise. The ultimate goal is to reach an audience of NFT projects and Web3 enthusiasts in the Ethereum space so they can learn about our payments tooling and become customers.
We’re excited about our future prospects and our potential to reshape the landscape of online payments. With our innovative solutions, strong partnerships, and a commitment to community-building, Helio is primed to transform Web3 payments on a global scale.
