Building the future of onchain finance: What we learned in the first Rayls AMA

The team behind Rayls (developed by Parfin) kicked off their first ever AMA opening the floor to the community for honest questions and unfiltered answers. The session was hosted by Tom, Rayls’ CMO, alongside Alex, CPTO and Co-founder and Marcos, CEO and co-founder of Parfin. Together, they covered everything from the origins of Rayls to why banks are finally experimenting with DeFi infrastructure and where all this is heading.

If you missed the live session, here’s a recap of the highlights, key insights, and a few behind-the-scenes stories.

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What is the relationship between Parfin and Rayls?

Marcos kicked off by explaining the origin story. Parfin was the initial creator and developer of Rayls. After raising funding and building the first version, the project transitioned to the newly established Rayls Foundation, which now governs development and will hand over decision-making to the community as the ecosystem grows. While Parfin remains a key contributor for now, the long-term goal is an open platform with many builders and true token-driven governance.

“Parfin was the first contributor and developer, but we hope more and more contributors will join. The goal is to make governance truly community-driven.”  says Marcos

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What brought them both into Crypto?

Alex’s journey began back in 2013 as a Bitcoin miner, before investing in Ethereum and building one of the largest ICO portals, CoinSchedule. “Once you join the rabbit hole, it’s hard to leave,” he laughed, mentioning a casual encounter with Vitalik Buterin before Ethereum launched.

Marcos came from a very different background. Over 20 years in banking, much of it as CTO and COO at Latin America’s biggest investment bank. He discovered Bitcoin at a tech conference in Las Vegas, read the Satoshi white paper, and immediately saw its potential to revolutionise finance. “It was a tick in my brain,” he said. “I saw a huge opportunity to transform how value moves around the world.”

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How will users participate in governance?

As the Rayls Foundation matures, so will community involvement. Token holders will get to vote on roadmap priorities and other critical decisions, with the ultimate goal of becoming a fully decentralised, community-led DAO. The mainnet and token launch are on the horizon, but the path forward is clear: Rayls is designed to be steered by its users.

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What is Rayls' vision over the next 3-5 years?

The vision is ambitious. Both founders painted a bold picture:

• Widespread adoption of Rayls Privacy Nodes by banks, institutions, and corporates, each connecting for liquidity and interoperability.
• A public chain, natively EVM-compatible, linking traditional finance (TradFi) to DeFi.
• Bringing billions of bank account holders and trillions in real-world liquidity onchain.

The mission?

Connect the world’s banks and their clients to onchain services, enabling new financial products, global liquidity, and real-world asset tokenisation at scale.

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What is the biggest challenges along the way?

No sugar-coating, the team shared that hiring the right people, keeping up with a fast-moving market, and fundraising have all been big hurdles. Marcos summed it up: “There’s always more to do than we have resources for.” Alex added, “Strategy is about deciding what not to do.”

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Testnet: Access, rewards, and what’s next

Rayls’ public chain testnet is live, but access is limited for now as key features like open banking attestations are tested. With more than 300,000 people on the waitlist, the team is launching a rewards program to let the wider community get involved and earn points ahead of future testnet waves.

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Which real-world assets markets will be transformed first?

Marcos highlighted that Rayls is already powering production networks:

• One for tokenising commercial receivables (over $60 million live).
• One for credit card receivables.

The focus is on real-world, yield-generating assets like trade finance where Rayls is already working with clients on deals worth hundreds of millions. Bonds, stocks, and funds will likely follow, and the team is also closely involved with central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots, especially with Brazil’s Central Bank.

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Are banks ready to embrace DeFi-like infrastructure?

Most banks begin by using blockchains for internal settlements, but Rayls’ architecture is designed to help them transition to public chains for broader liquidity and onchain services. The platform aims to make this evolution seamless, with privacy, compliance, and interoperability at its core.

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How does Rayls protect user data in testnet attestation?

The current testnet uses open banking to verify user bank accounts and create zero-knowledge proofs, ensuring no private data is stored onchain. This privacy-first approach enables compliant attestations and paves the way for features like jurisdiction-based asset restrictions and institutional-grade onchain services.

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What makes Rayls' cross-chain approach unique?

Most interoperability protocols (like LayerZero or Chainlink) are built for public blockchains. Rayls is different, it’s designed for private, permissioned chains run by banks and institutions. The proprietary Enygma protocol and advanced cryptography allow assets and data to move between private and public chains, maintaining both privacy and auditability.

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Why should a retail crypto user care?

When Rayls onboard banks, they will bring massive liquidity and millions of users onchain, everyone in the ecosystem benefits. Token holders, dApp builders, and DeFi users. Expect more real-world assets, deeper liquidity, and new kinds of onchain financial services, powered by the institutions that move the world’s money.

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What’s Next?

Rayls is designed to be global from day one. While rollout is happening in phases, partners and banks across Europe, Latin America, and Asia are already in the pipeline. The team is actively seeking ambassadors and partners worldwide.

Rayls just announced a partnership with Camelot (the largest DEX on Arbitrum) and promised more integrations and opportunities for the community to get involved.

The team will continue monthly AMAs, with a specialist privacy-focused session coming soon depending on demand.

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In Summary:

Rayls, developed by Parfin, is bridging the gap between banks and blockchains, focusing on privacy, interoperability, and real-world value. It’s early days, but if the founders’ vision holds true, this could be the infrastructure that finally brings DeFi to the mainstream.

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Want to get involved or join the waitlist? Follow Rayls on X, join the Discord, and keep an eye out for rewards, news, and new ways to participate.

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