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Mainstreet

· 6 min read
Denicio Bute

https://mstreet.apphttps://mstreet.app

In today's interview, Lloyd Duhon, Chief Operations Officer at Mainstreet, provides a deep dive into the platform's unique use case, development outlook for the next 12 months, and tantalizing glimpses of their exciting roadmap. As the COO, Lloyd plays a pivotal role in establishing and optimizing Mainstreet's operational foundations, thereby contributing significantly to the platform's growth and advancement in the rapidly evolving peer-to-peer commerce landscape.

Mainstreet strategically positions itself among industry leaders like Paypal and Stripe, showcasing an innovative and competitive edge. The platform sets itself apart by delivering a swifter and more user-friendly interface, effectively tackling the challenges associated with cryptocurrencies. This commitment ensures a seamless experience for both consumers and business owners. As we explore further into Mainstreet's narrative, it becomes evident that they are not just keeping pace with industry standards but actively redefining them. Let's dive right into the exciting world of Mainstreet!


Hey, Lloyd, happy to connect today and learn more about the MainStreet project. Can you tell us more about the project and the problem you are trying to solve?

Mainstreet is a peer to peer commerce application and point of sale system that seeks to reduce the friction for merchants to accept cryptocurrencies.


Can you introduce yourself and let us know what your role is in MainStreet?

I’m Lloyd Duhon, I’m the Chief Operations Officer of Mainstreet. My job is to stand up the operations for the business, build the policies, frameworks, and culture to help the business succeed, and get teams hired to perform the day to day roles within the company.

You may know me from my work on some of the other projects in the space. I serve similar roles on the DripDropz, Adosia, and RESI teams. I participate in governance for Cardano, I attended the CIP-1694 conferences in Longmont and Edinburgh. I am on the Civics committee for Intersect. I’m also the host of GM Cardano, a daily news podcast.


What are the most important use cases for MainStreet?

Retail businesses and service providers (plumbers, barbers, etc.) being able to seamlessly accept cryptocurrencies when they make a sale, while also receiving exactly the currency mix that they desire, at the time of exchange.


Who will be the main users of MainStreet? In other words, who is MainStreet being built for?

Mainstreet is built for consumers and business owners. Consumers will enjoy the ability to spend major cryptocurrencies at their favorite local vendor, regardless of if the vendor takes Mainstreet payments or not. Business owners will be able to access the 1.4 trillion dollar market that currently holds cryptocurrencies, while mitigating the risks and volatility at a level that the individual owner is comfortable with.


Why did you choose to launch MainStreet on Cardano?

Cardano’s native token structure is fundamental to the success of Mainstreet. We have a number of interesting use cases that we are establishing for merchants utilizing the power of Cardano Native Assets.


Will MainsStreet also have multi-chain support? If so, can you tell us a bit more about this and how having multi-chain support will benefit the Cardano ecosystem?

Mainstreet is by default multi-chain. We utilize the power of Fireblocks to ensure safe transactions of assets across the major blockchains. With the flexibility available there, over 2000 different blockchains are available to us.


Going forward, how will MainStreet make an impact in the crypto space or on the world at large?

When a user can make a purchase with any crypto asset that they own, and a business can accept those assets, but only receive the currencies they are comfortable receiving, we will see a huge shift in the way cryptocurrency is used and valued by consumers and businesses.


Now, what are your accomplishments so far, and what are you most proud of?

We received Project Catalyst funding in Fund 9. With those funds we built out a demonstrator app that we could use to share with investors to explain our vision. We are very happy that the community at large has also seen the vision of Mainstreet and is interested in participating.


What are current your major dependencies for launching MainStreet?

We have some pretty high regulatory hurdles to climb. For our fund raising, we had to prepare a ton of legal documents to protect the team, and investors. Next up, our Money Transmitter Licences need to be issued in 54 US States and Territories. We’re also exploring international Money Transmitter licences in Europe and Dubai. So funds and regulations are our major dependencies.


Who would you consider to be your greatest competitor, and how are you going to compete with / outdo them?

We compete with Paypal and Stripe in our own way. I think we out innovate and out compete by offering a faster, friendlier interface, while eliminating the headaches around Cryptocurrencies, but maintaining the promise.


Do you have a road map, and can you tell us about the progress you have made so far?

Our next year looks like some serious development, primarily in the Mobile experience. So this means focus groups, A/B testing, and working/testing groups in cities where we can begin operations. At the same time, we continue the roughly 1.5 year process of gaining all of those MTLs. Another team will be going to public events to raise awareness of the product. Lastly, our fund raising team will begin working on our Series A investment round. Only when all of these steps come together, are we at our full launch. So a roughly two year timeline from now. static/img/og/mainstreet-roadmap.png

  • Roadmap:

    RoadmapRoadmap


What does the future hold for MainStreet? For example, what new developments are you expecting in the next 6 to 12 months, and what will this mean for the overall project?

Over the next several years, Mainstreet will start to change the way that people use money. The next 6 to 12 months will be focused on development and regulatory compliance.


Which partnerships have you engaged so far, and which ones are the most impactful?

Our most impactful partnership so far has been Fireblocks. They are a phenomenal team. They’ve made our integration smooth, and helped us to eliminate a ton of work securing transactions that have to go from chain to chain.

  • Team Success:

    AchievementsAchievements


Tell us about your team. Who are the people behind Mainstreet?