Posted 6th December 2024

Q3 - Q4 2024 – Quarterly Update

In our latest update from the Kinesis CEO and founder, Thomas Coughlin reviews the milestones achieved by Kinesis in the third quarter and provides further insight into upcoming developments in Q4 2024.

Product Updates

Q3 milestones

Kinesis Virtual Card Pre-Registration

Following the opening of pre-registration for Kinesis Virtual Card, users can now access Kinesis’ cashback offering of 6 months free from the card launch.  

The enhanced card introduces users to a program that makes choosing gold, silver and digital assets practical and rewarding for everyone. Following a customer survey sent out earlier this year, the card program has incorporated the features and upgrades most requested by the Kinesis community.

Kinesis users can earn 2% in gold on every purchase – up to a maximum of $2,000 spent per month. Unlike debit cards on the market, the Kinesis Virtual Card doesn’t restrict anyone to earnings at specific airlines, hotels, or retailers. Instead, users can enjoy the flexibility of being rewarded with physical gold regardless of where they spend and with whichever currency they choose.

With free and paid plans available, the card program also introduces lower fees and a range of new, highly requested features, with the only fee being a low 0.22% conversion on instant, real-time payments with precious metals and cryptocurrencies.

In addition, Kinesis will make an additional 1% contribution for every cashback transaction  – without any expense to the user – boosting the overall contribution to the Kinesis Master Fee Pool for the benefit of the entire system. 

Available in 60+ countries, the Kinesis Virtual Card is poised to offer a universally rewarding program, making it easier than ever to use gold and silver as money.

Claim your 6 months of free access to the card cashback offering from launch and pre-register with a single click today here

See T&Cs

Metalback

In Q3, Kinesis launched the Metalback program, offering users the opportunity to earn gold on their purchases at over 6,000 leading global retailers. 

Through the Kinesis platform, users can now access thousands of savings from brands like Apple, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and Samsung, while earning gold on luxury items and everyday essentials such as groceries, bills, and subscriptions.

Available across the US, UK, Asia, Europe, and Australia, Metalback sets Kinesis apart as the only program that offers physical gold on purchases. The Metalback program enhances the reward features available to existing users, while also providing a strong incentive for newcomers to join the platform.

Metalback is strategically positioned to drive further adoption of the upcoming card program, with the Kinesis Monetary System now offering countless ways to earn rewards, whether through Metalback, cashback promotional rewards, or the Kinesis yield system.

Every time you use the Kinesis Virtual Card for a Metalback purchase, your gold earnings are boosted by Kinesis’ card cashback offer. For example, through making a virtual card purchase at a store offering 10% Metalback, you would also earn a fixed 2% cashback in gold. This means that with just one Kinesis Virtual Card transaction, you can earn up to a total of 12% back in gold – a powerful way to maximise your rewards every time you use your card with Metalback.

Read our blog on how your card rewards stack up with Metalback here.

Partner Program 

Q3 saw the Partner Program successfully onboard several Partners, including major Partners that are specifically aligned with the coming rollout of Kinesis Pro. A significant milestone coming out of Q3 for the Partner Program was the first automated Partner’s Yield payment, bringing the Partner Program fully in line with the rest of the Kinesis Yield Engine.

Highlights include a Partner that moved a large amount of money from a Sprott Silver ETF onto the Kinesis Money System in real time over social media, as well as the onboarding of a major Newsletter Partner in the US within the prepping community. To see how different Partners showcase Kinesis to their audiences and to support their work, please subscribe to their channels.

In the coming months, the Partner Program will expand to include a system to reward those who introduce Partners to Kinesis, as well as an overhauled marketing suite that will be available for anyone who becomes a Kinesis Partner.

Company Hiring & Expansion

We were pleased to welcome a new member to the Kinesis Strategy team, Robert Kientz, as Head of Operations in the US. 

As the founder of Gold Silver Pros – a research and educational website dedicated to precious metals – he brings over twenty years of experience across the bond, stock, real estate, commodities, Forex, and precious metals markets.

Kientz is the founder and publisher of The Freedom Report, a channel designed to educate users on the complexities of the gold and silver markets and macroeconomics. He shares a vision of the power of the individual to realise monetary freedom through precious metal ownership and wider financial education.

Technical Updates & Customer Service Enhancements

The Kinesis platform had a range of enhancements aimed at improving performance and user experience. 

  • Boosted exchange performance: We’ve enhanced the Kinesis Exchange to reduce service interruptions during order processing, ensuring smoother and more reliable trading for users.
  • Send crypto via email: The existing send-to-email feature has been upgraded to allow users to send crypto via email for currencies that require a destination tag, such as Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM), making transfers even easier.
  • Kinesis app order: Mobile users can now manage their transactions on the go with a newly introduced order widget, bringing greater flexibility and convenience.
  • Revamped transaction history: The transaction history page has been redesigned to offer clearer details, enhanced search functionality, and filters, making it easier for users to track and manage their activity.

Q4 milestones so far

Product Launches & Integrations

Kinesis Dashboard Redesign

We launched an enhanced dashboard experience offering users a fully responsive and accessible version of the Kinesis platform for all device types – along with a series of new and upgraded widgets improving the everyday usability of the platform.

The all-new Kinesis dashboard has been redesigned to make a meaningful difference to both Android and iOS users, who can now use the platform on their mobile web browser with the same frictionless experience as the Kinesis app.

In response to App Store restrictions affecting iOS users in certain regions, Kinesis developed a web-based application that mirrors the functionality of a native app. Users can now access the platform via their mobile web browser and easily add a shortcut to their home screens for quick access, ensuring a seamless experience  – simply by logging in to the platform via the Kinesis website on their mobile browser.

This redesign future-proofs the platform, ensuring global accessibility and uninterrupted access to the Kinesis Monetary System. With a focus on user feedback, Kinesis has made significant improvements to the dashboard, prioritising accessibility, ease of use, and responsiveness across all devices.

In a short walkthrough video below, Sam Hayter, Design Technologist at Kinesis, walks you through everything we’ve enhanced – or added – on the platform:

What’s New on the Kinesis Platform

We also enhanced the Buy/Sell widget, to make it more accessible from the Home and the main menu. Within this feature, users can now view live price checks and fee information, giving you complete confidence before placing your order.

Accessible within the Buy/sell widget, the new ‘target price’ feature makes it possible for users to set limit orders – setting a buy or sell order at a specific price – with a new simplified process.  Users can enter their chosen price and view it as a line on an interactive price chart, making it easier for users to pick their entry and exit points to the market. Alternatively, users can set their buy or sell price a specific percentage away from the current price.

For new users, we enhanced the experience of users getting started with a Kinesis account. Newcomers can see their initial progress on the platform and are guided through the verification process and with making their very first deposit. 

Keep an eye out for further updates on enhancements that are still to be released on the platform.

Kinesis Expanded Fiat Trading Pairs for USDT and USDC

Kinesis expanded the range of fiat trading pairs for USDT and USDC, allowing users to trade these stablecoins against five additional fiat currencies: British Pound (GBP), Euro (EUR), Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), and Swiss Franc (CHF). 

Kinesis users now have greater flexibility to exchange local currencies for stablecoins and seamlessly deposit fiat, convert to USDT or USDC, and trade into gold (KAU) and silver (KAG).

This expansion reflects Kinesis’ ongoing commitment to providing more options for users to diversify their portfolios.

Kinesis Partners with the Development Bank for Resilient Prosperity (DBRP) 

This quarter, Kinesis announced its strategic partnership with the Development Bank for Resilient Prosperity (DBRP), a new multilateral development bank focused on empowering Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to leverage real-world natural assets for development financing. The partnership was announced at a landmark event in Kingston, Jamaica, alongside collaborations with The University of the West Indies (UWI), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and the PVBLIC Foundation. This initiative represents a significant step toward building resilient prosperity in developing nations through innovative financial solutions.

Q4 – what’s still to come

The Road to Kinesis Pro

Over the past two years, Kinesis has been on a transformative journey to bring Kinesis Pro to life. Initially, we embarked on this journey in collaboration with a third-party provider to develop a solution. However, as the project progressed, it became increasingly evident that our internal technology and capacity had outgrown the limitations of third-party integrations. Recognising the risks and restrictions inherent in such an approach, we made the strategic decision to bring all operations in-house under Kinesis.

This pivotal shift allowed us to build beyond the constraints of a third-party solution, enabling us to develop a platform that aligns fully with our vision and operational goals. While this decision extended our development timeline, it has proven invaluable in creating a more secure, efficient, and scalable platform. By leveraging our in-house expertise, we have not only mitigated potential complications but also ensured that Kinesis Pro is a robust, future-proof solution tailored to meet the evolving needs of our users.

The Journey so far

The development of Kinesis Pro has been a complex and demanding endeavour, requiring careful navigation through challenges and adjustments. The journey has culminated in an advanced, integrated solution that aligns seamlessly with the broader Kinesis Monetary System (KMS). Two major developments have been instrumental to this success:

1. Comprehensive System Re-architecture: A complete overhaul of our backend exchange and wallet infrastructure has paved the way for a more efficient and reliable platform. These improvements enhance performance and scalability, ensuring a seamless experience for all users.

2. Proprietary Market-Making Platform: This innovative platform delivers unprecedented efficiencies in liquidity management, enabling faster product rollouts and operational agility. Tasks that once took weeks of development at a significant cost, can now be executed within minutes, allowing us to respond quickly to market demands.

A Streamlined Future

The integration of Kinesis Pro within the KMS ecosystem creates a unified platform designed for optimal user experience. From yield generation to transaction processing and comprehensive reporting, every element of the platform is tailored for efficiency and effectiveness.

While the journey to this point has required patience and strategic adaptation, we’ve arrived at an optimal solution that serves our users’ best interests. This streamlined infrastructure positions us to introduce new features, trading pairs, and order types in the future. Moreover, it opens opportunities to launch Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and build partnerships that leverage Kinesis Pro as a financial enabler for innovative projects.

Market Positioning

The launch of Kinesis Pro also marks a significant commercialisation milestone for Kinesis. It enables us to establish a strong foothold in the evolving crypto market, which is experiencing a new dawn of enthusiasm and engagement. This positioning allows us to attract a broader audience, onboard new users, educate and promote our core philosophy of sound money within the crypto community and beyond.

A Vision for Continuous Growth

The launch of Kinesis Pro is not the end of this journey, but the beginning of a new chapter. Weekly and monthly updates will keep the platform dynamic and responsive, ensuring that it evolves to meet the needs of our users and drives the adoption of sound money principles globally. From introducing advanced trading tools to exploring new markets, Kinesis Pro will continue to set benchmarks for innovation and excellence.

As we approach the launch of Kinesis Pro this quarter, we invite our community to share in the excitement of this next chapter. Kinesis Pro is a testament to our commitment to delivering meaningful solutions, and we are excited to share this milestone with our community as we chart a course for an even brighter future.

Stay tuned for our upcoming dedicated Kinesis Pro announcement, where we’ll reveal the updated features, enhancements, and benefits in detail.

Kinesis Virtual Card Launch

Kinesis is primed for the relaunch of the Kinesis Virtual Card, scheduled for Q4, which will enable users to make a purchase with gold, silver and crypto in real-time, anywhere in the world.

The Kinesis Virtual Card lets the global community protect their wealth in gold and silver – or hold crypto – instantly converting their assets at the exact moment of purchase. Accessible via mobile device, the card will enable users to use their gold, silver and crypto as money. 

The team is working on a global campaign that aims to tap into a wide range of market sectors. With the card available throughout 60+ regions, we expect to drive global adoption across the UK, Canada, Australia, Europe and beyond.

We are now approaching the final stages of production testing, with only one outstanding delivery item from our card provider remaining, which we anticipate will be completed imminently. 

However, if our provider is unable to deliver this within the coming week, due to internal policy and the added risk associated with holiday-period launches, the card launch will be postponed until after Christmas.

Expanding our native asset offering

Kinesis is set to expand its native asset range with Pro, designed to target the retail payments and cryptocurrency space with a unique value proposition.

In addition to trading and investing, the new native assets will enhance the platform’s utility by enabling seamless use cases for remittance, spending, and trading. This will empower users to operate outside of conventional financial networks, providing faster, more cost-effective financial solutions.

KVT

In preparation for the upgrade of the Kinesis Velocity Token (KVT) to the Stellar blockchain we have successfully engaged with the regulator to proceed and are in the final stages of preparing this upgrade.

The technically superior KVT will offer enhanced tokenomics, improved accountability and a more secure and predictable environment, including being divisible to seven decimal points.

The upgrade will be performed during our regular scheduled platform maintenance and will entail existing KVT being frozen and the upgraded Stellar blockchain KVT token being issued shortly thereafter for all KVT in KYC’d user accounts. 

This upgrade s allows us to adhere to the high quality and integrity expected of Kinesis’ native asset offering and promote the success of the Kinesis Monetary System. 

This development is expected to attract investors from across the wider digital asset space and further amplify trade volume on the Kinesis Exchange while opening up KVT for listing on third-party exchanges.

Kinesis Gold Bills

Kinesis is set to launch our first Kinesis series of gold bills in partnership with Valaurum, the manufacturer of the patented Aurum® gold bill. 

Containing practical amounts of fine 9999 gold, the finely crafted gold bills are available in five denominations. The five editions of the Kinesis gold bill represent the values of the Kinesis Monetary System and the Sound Money Movement. 

As we prepare for the launch of the Kinesis Gold Bills, we are in the final phases of reviewing the proofs and coordinating the distribution before they are available to purchase from the Kinesis Bullion Store.

In summary

The milestones achieved this year will see Kinesis entering a growth phase, seeing the global expansion of the Kinesis Monetary System. 

The upgrade of the Kinesis dashboard makes the platform accessible for all users, at any stage of experience, on any kind of device. Intuitive UX and a sleek new design that places the platform at the cutting edge of every target sector we touch. The upgrade was a crucial foundation that had to be laid before the launch of full-scale marketing. In Metalback, Kinesis has launched one of the most competitive and unique rewards programs in any industry. The program holds a mainstream appeal that enhances all Kinesis card offerings going forward.

With the Kinesis Virtual Card scheduled to launch, a large-scale marketing push will follow with an ambitious new creative direction, spreading the message about gold and silver to the world. Amplified campaign efforts will position Kinesis as the all-encompassing solution for accessing the monetary application and long-term wealth preservation of precious metals. 

The Kinesis Virtual Card closes the loop on the Kinesis Monetary System, with the low conversion fee bypassing any barriers to entry for users wishing to spend precious metals. Alongside a highly competitive cashback program, we anticipate that our enhanced card program will reach audiences within the precious metals space and beyond.

With the Kinesis Pro upgrade in the final stages of internal testing, things are truly falling into place. Bringing the Pro upgrade to life will fully realise a unique value proposition aimed at offering users a secure experience with assurance not found elsewhere in the industry. Entering the cryptocurrency sphere, Pro sets the groundwork for growth into multiple digital asset classes as well as the long-term evolution of the business into an even wider range of markets for many quarters to come. 

The forthcoming launch of the Kinesis Virtual Card and the Pro upgrade are expected to serve as significant volume drivers for the Kinesis Monetary System, through our internal users and newcomers from across the precious metals, cryptocurrency and payment services sectors. These launches are significant milestones in the growth of our ecosystem, expected to reach anyone, across the world who is seeking a more rewarding monetary experience. 

We extend our thanks to all members of the Kinesis community who continue to support us on the path towards a sound monetary future for all. 

Best regards,

Thomas Coughlin