More than a decade ago, a trend towards products ecosystems emerged. For example, Google includes the Android operating system, Google Pixel smartphones, hundreds of applications and services, and much more. Apple and Microsoft are not far behind. And even small companies are looking to expand their ecosystem to offer their customers more important products and services in one place. Now we can see this even in financial and blockchain companies. Let's look at a few examples.
Block
Block, formerly known as Square, is an American financial technology company that provides payment processing services, payment terminals, and other financial products and services. The company was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, who is also the founder and former CEO of Twitter.
In 2022, Block acquired Australian company Afterpay, one of the world's largest BNPL service providers. This transaction was valued at $29 billion and became one of the largest in the history of fintech.
BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) is a financing model that allows buyers to make purchases now and pay for them later, usually over multiple installments. BNPL services have become popular in recent years because they offer consumers more flexible payment options than credit cards.
The acquisition of Afterpay allowed Block to expand its presence in the BNPL segment and compete with other major players in this market such as PayPal and Affirm. This also allowed Block to enter a new, non-cryptocurrency market.
DarWin
DarWin Enterprise initially focused on currency arbitrage and offered related investment products. Over time, the company expanded and now includes more than 10 projects in a wide variety of areas. For example:
- DarSoulution — online education for personal and professional growth.
- DarFormatia — private business events for the most successful community members
- DarVillage — retreat centers in places of power. These are large-scale complexes with their own territory and developed internal infrastructure. Entire themed settlements. Work is already underway on the construction of DarVillage centers on the Baltic Sea.
- Jet Up — a comprehensive set of tools for investing in venture projects and businesses
- DarWino — NFT investments in premium alcohol.
- And others…
Thus, today DarWin 's WinWin investment pool includes a large number of income sources, which together provide stability and security to the pool, while maintaining returns of up to 8% per month.
These two successful examples prove that going beyond your niche is possible, and sometimes even useful.