Building Paxful and Beyond: Ray Youssef’s True Vision
Ray Youssef may not have been born with a silver spoon in his hand, but his passion was evident from an early age. Born in Egypt and raised in New York City, he grew up helping his parents run a newsstand on the corner.
Imagine an eight-year-old who already knew how to serve customers and count change faster than a cash register. This experience not only shaped his work ethic, but also honed his business instincts that would later take him into a wider world.
Entering his teenage years, Ray spent his time learning to code autodidactically. A choice that not many young people chose at that time. At the age of 19, he had succeeded in building a ringtone business, which at that time was like selling hot cakes on the side of the road.
However, his life journey was not always smooth. Eleven times he founded a business, eleven times he had to swallow the bitter pill of failure. For many people, it might be enough to give up and return to a “safer” path. But Ray chose to persist.
A major turning point came in 2015 when Ray Youssef co-founded Paxful, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace. He believed that Bitcoin was not just a speculative tool, but a way out for many people who were underserved by the traditional financial system.
While in developed countries we can easily open a bank account with just a mobile phone, it is different in Africa and Asia . In many places, accessing financial services is still like chasing a ghost.
Through Paxful, Ray opened the door to millions of people. They can buy and sell Bitcoin using more than 300 payment methods. From gift vouchers to local cash transfers. With this concept, Paxful has grown rapidly in Nigeria, Ghana, and various other developing countries.
On the other hand, Ray also founded the Built With Bitcoin Foundation, proving that Bitcoin can do more than just transactions. Through this foundation, he funds the construction of schools and clean water facilities in underdeveloped areas.
Not everyone is willing to invest in real change like this, especially with capital from a world that is often looked down upon.
However, Ray’s journey at Paxful was not always smooth. In 2023, he decided to step down from his position. He faced a legal dispute with one of the founders and pressure from increasingly stringent regulations.
Even so, before leaving, he ensured that 88% of the frozen customer funds were successfully released. This was a kind of farewell that was full of responsibility, not just throwing up his hands and walking away.
Not long after, another storm hit when Artur Schaback, his co-founder, pleaded guilty to money laundering. The internal conditions of Paxful were really turbulent at that time, but Ray had chosen his own path.
Not wanting to be trapped in the old story for too long, Ray immediately launched a new project: Noones. This marketplace has a similar vision to Paxful, but with a more decentralized approach and a strong focus on Global South countries. In addition, he also introduced Civ Kit, a toolkit for anyone who wants to build their own Bitcoin marketplace.
To this day, Ray Youssef remains a vocal figure about Bitcoin. He is not the type to just show up at conferences and talk sweetly. He is an outspoken critic of altcoin schemes that are detrimental to the common people. For Ray, Bitcoin is a tool of liberation, not just an asset.
Watching Ray Youssef’s journey is like reading the story of a stubborn warrior who refuses to submit to failure. The world may be changing, technology is getting more sophisticated, but the human need for fair financial access remains the same. And Ray chooses to remain at the forefront of that struggle.
🚀 $SUI: The Solana of This Cycle? Here’s Why I’m Hyped! 🔥
If you caught Solana’s meteoric rise last cycle, you know the vibe—blazing speed, dirt-cheap transactions, and a dev ecosystem that just clicks. This cycle, I’m betting big on SUI to steal that crown. Why? SUI’s tech is next-level: its Move-based architecture delivers Solana-like scalability (100k+ TPS) with even better security and composability. Gas fees? Practically nonexistent.
Devs are flocking to SUI like moths to a flame—NFTs, DeFi, and gaming dApps are popping off. The community’s got that early-Solana energy: hungry, creative, and all-in. Data backs it up—SUI’s TVL has surged 200% in six months, and its mainnet is barely a year old.
Is it perfect? Nah. It’s young, and growing pains are real. But at a $2B market cap, SUI’s got room to run compared to Solana’s $80B peak last cycle. I’m not saying it’s a guaranteed moonshot, but if you’re sleeping on SUI, you might wake up wishing you hadn’t. 👀
#Crypto #Solana #BullRun
$BTC $ETH $SUI $SOL $XRP $BNB $DOGE $FARTCOIN $ALPACA $INIT $PENGU $RAY $BONK
Solana’s Forgotten Gems: Why Old Tokens Could Lead the Next Altseason
Insight:
While the spotlight often falls on new token launches, Solana’s older, often overlooked tokens could be preparing to surprise the market. Many of these “forgotten gems” were once major players, and they’re quietly revamping their strategies to benefit from the next wave of Solana’s growth.
Here’s why these tokens are ripe for a resurgence:
Unyielding Foundations:
Solana’s older projects were built on strong principles during the previous bull market. Despite the market’s volatility, these projects still have solid infrastructure, active communities, and dedicated development teams. These strengths make them prime candidates for a comeback as Solana continues to expand.
Reinvention and Growth:
Older projects are evolving with the times. Many are incorporating DeFi, NFT, GameFi, and cross-chain capabilities into their roadmap, ensuring their relevance in today’s rapidly changing blockchain landscape. This evolution is critical for keeping their value intact and sparking renewed investor interest.
Community Power:
Even when projects face setbacks, passionate communities continue to support them. Solana’s older tokens often come with dedicated holders who can fuel the growth of these tokens again. Strong community engagement creates the kind of organic momentum that can skyrocket a token’s value during a market turnaround.
Strategic Revaluation:
Solana’s ecosystem continues to evolve with new partnerships, increased network activity, and innovative developments. This creates the perfect environment for older tokens, many of which are undervalued at the moment, to see substantial revaluation. The narrative is shifting, and these tokens are perfectly positioned to benefit from it.
Spotlight on Solana’s Forgotten Gems:
1. Serum (SRM):
Serum was once the leader in Solana-based decentralized exchanges. Though its price has dropped, the DEX landscape on Solana is now gaining renewed momentum, making SRM a token worth keeping an eye on.
2. Raydium (RAY):
Raydium helped build the liquidity backbone for Solana-based DEXs. As DeFi activity picks up again on Solana, Raydium’s role as a liquidity provider could send RAY soaring back to new heights.
3. Bonfida (FIDA):
Bonfida’s infrastructure, including the Solana Name Service (SNS), is still highly relevant. As Solana’s ecosystem grows, projects like Bonfida, which offer essential services, have significant potential for future appreciation.
4. Oxygen (OXY):
Although Oxygen was impacted by the FTX collapse, its DeFi prime brokerage idea remains promising. With Solana’s renewed focus on DeFi and financial services, OXY could regain its status as a major player.
5. Star Atlas (ATLAS & POLIS):
Star Atlas is building a rich metaverse with NFTs and gaming integration. Although it faced challenges, its ambitious goals within the Solana ecosystem might reignite interest, making ATLAS and POLIS tokens worth tracking.
6. Audius (AUDIO):
Audius provides decentralized music streaming and integrates with Solana. With growing adoption of NFTs and the entertainment sector embracing blockchain, Audius has significant growth potential.
Conclusion:
Solana’s older tokens are not just relics of the past — they’re quietly positioning themselves for a major comeback. The next altseason may very well see these forgotten gems leading the charge, driven by solid infrastructure, dedicated communities, and a rapidly evolving ecosystem.
Stay informed, keep an eye on these tokens, and you could be rewarded with a timely investment as Solana’s older projects rise to prominence once again.
Top 8 Altcoins with the Highest Long Position Ratio Revealed: Here’s the List and What It Means
Cryptocurrency analytics company Alphractal has published a new analysis of the altcoin market. According to the company’s data, RAY has the highest Long/Short ratio among all altcoins.
Following RAY, GTC, COS, DOT, ALPHA, MELANIA, AUDIO and REZ are among the other altcoins where long positions are higher than shorts.
The Alphractal team noted that excessively high long/short ratios generally negatively impact altcoin performance, but can also occasionally trigger price bottoms. According to the company, this can create a short squeeze dynamic, with traders closing long positions and opening short positions when prices start to rise again.
However, it was emphasized that an increase in Open Interest volume is required for this scenario to occur. Alphractal predicts that there is currently no significant increase in Open Interest in altcoins, so prices may move sideways in the coming days.
Image shared by Alphractal showing the long/short ratio in altcoins.
On the other hand, Alphractal CEO Joao Wedson announced that an important signal has re-emerged on the Bitcoin side. Wedson stated that the Bitcoin/Stablecoin Reserve Ratio on Binance has given a signal in the $76,000–$77,000 range again, reminding that this level has predicted major Bitcoin rallies in the past. Wedson used the following statements in his statement:
“This behavior suggests that stablecoin reserves are growing faster than Bitcoin reserves, suggesting that there is ample capital ready to flow into crypto assets. The same signal appeared after the ‘Coronadump’ in 2020, at the end of 2022, and now again. In all of these instances, the Bitcoin price reacted positively.”
*This is not investment advice.