Velo Labs Describes Itself As

Velo Labs is developing a federated credit exchange network powered by the Velo Protocol, a blockchain protocol enabling digital credit issuance and borderless asset transfers for businesses. The network aims to facilitate safe, secure, and timely value transfers between partners, leveraging a smart contract system and the Stellar Consensus Protocol for efficient transaction processing and settlement.

Project Function

Velo Labs focuses on providing secure and efficient value transfers across different networks. Central to this is the Velo Protocol, which allows partners to issue digital credits backed by collateral. These digital credits can correspond to any fiat currency, enabling frictionless value transfers.

A key feature of the Velo Ecosystem includes their Warp Multi-Chain Bridge, which aims to ensure seamless asset movement across various blockchain networks, enhancing interoperability.

Token Utility

The VELO token is the utility token within the Velo ecosystem, serving several critical functions:

• Collateral: VELO tokens act as collateral within the network, supporting the issuance of digital credits.
• Access: Holding VELO tokens is a requirement for participating in the Velo ecosystem.
• Value Transfer: The token facilitates stable settlements and value transfers within the Velo network.

About the Founders

Velo Labs was launched in 2020 by Chatchaval Jiaravanon and Tridbodi Arunanondchai. 

Chatchaval Jiaravanon (Chairman at Velo Labs Technology Ltd.) has served in numerous other leadership roles, including the Chairman for three other organizations (i.e., Thai Kodama, Charoen Energy and Water Asia Co. Ltd., and Finansia Syrus Securities). Jiaravanon has also served as the Director of Metro Machinery Co. since 1990. Velo Labs is his first foray into the blockchain industry.

Tridbodi Arunanondchai (Vice Chairman at Velo Labs Technology Ltd.) is also the Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Velo Labs’ sister company Lightnet Group, as well as EvryNet, an infrastructure that allows businesses to build applications that are interoperable with blockchains. Previous leadership roles include being the Co-Founder of MoneyTable, and the Executive Director of Pinnacle Hotels.

Velo Protocol was funded by selling VELO tokens in a single funding round, an IEO. The IEO was held on KuCoin Spotlight from Sept. 4-15, 2020. Overall, ~0.13% of the initial total token supply (40 million Stellar-based VELO) was sold at $0.05 per token, raising $2 million.

Additionally, the project has been funded by unspecified financial contributions from its sister company, Lightnet Group. On Aug. 29, 2022, Lightnet Group received $50 million from LDA capital, which it pledged to specifically use to continue growing its partnership with Velo Labs for further development of Velo Protocol.

Risks of VELO

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in VELO. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

In addition to these general risks, an investment in VELO is subject to the following specific risks:

• Velo Protocol operates using smart contracts, which have an association with vulnerabilities and security breaches. Despite undergoing successful audits by well-regarded third-party entities, it is essential to acknowledge the existence of inherent risks. 

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with VELO. Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The VELO community and Velo Protocol founding team are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of VELO have no recourse to the VELO community, Velo Protocol founding team, or Uphold if VELO declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing VELO on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on VELO and determined that VELO is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of VELO, including ensuring the source code is open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of VELO.
• Any marketing materials put forward by the VELO social team including on, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with VELO, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning VELO and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with VELO, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of VELO.