Founder: Max Kei (CEO)Date Founded: March 2024Location of Headquarters: Lugano, SwitzerlandWebsite: https://debifi.com/Public or Private? PrivateMax Kei is a builder in the Bitcoin P2P space as well as a seasoned banker, which makes him uniquely qualified to create Debifi, a noncustodial, bitcoin-backed P2P lending platform that primarily serves institutions.Kei’s work in the Bitcoin space began in 2017, when he first contributing to Hodl Hodl, which quickly became a widely used noncustodial P2P trading platform.In 2020, he helped the exchange launch Lend at Hodl Hodl, the first noncustodial P2P borrowing and lending product in the Bitcoin space.The product gained traction in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where it was used to facilitate microloans, while the likes of Preston Pysh (now Strategic Advisor to Debifi) took interest in the product and renowned cypherpunk Adam Back also sang its praises.According to Kei, it’s the high-quality reputation of the team behind Lend at Hodl Hodl, some of whom now work on Debifi, that’s attracting users to Debifi.“A lot of lenders and borrowers go to Debifi because they know the team has very extensive experience,” Kei told Bitcoin Magazine.“People are satisfied, as we’ve been through multiple bear cycles and managed to survive,” he added.“Now, we’ve taken the concept of Lend at Hodl Hodl and moved into the institutional space.”For 10 years before finding Bitcoin, Kei worked as a private banker.He resigned from his position before “going full Bitcoin rabbit hole” at the end of 2015, partially as a reaction to an experience he had with one of his clients.“A year before I quit, I was sitting in a meeting in the bank office with one of my clients and he was showing me his phone and saying ‘You know at some point in the future, I’m not going to need you because I have bitcoin,’” recounted Kei.The client then proceeded to send $15,000 worth of bitcoin to a contact of his in Brazil, according to Kei, who thought to himself that his client was insane. However, it didn’t take long for Kei to realize that his client wasn’t crazy but, instead, onto something.“I started doing my own research, and I quickly realized that Bitcoin is a real thing,” said Kei.Kei pivoted to Bitcoin soon after. However, after spending eight years building in the Bitcoin space, he’s come to believe that banks will still have a role in a hyperbitcoinized future.“Banks aren’t going to go away,” explained Kei.“They will become infrastructure providers for Bitcoin companies, for startups, for everyone. They’re still going to be a backbone,” he added.He realized this when banks and other financial institutions began expressing interest in using the Lend at Hodl Hodl product.Within months of launching Lend at Hodl Hodl, institutions reached out to the Hodl Hodl team requesting to use the platform.“They said ‘Hey, we want to be available for bitcoin lending,’” recalled Kei.“But we
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