AQRU plc - Launch of lending pool

Press Release

25 January 2023

AQRU PLC

("AQRU" or "the Company")

Launch of lending pool

AQRU plc (AQSE: AQRU), an incubator specialising in opportunities in decentralised finance ("DeFi"), is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Accru Finance Ltd. ("Accru Finance") has launched a liquidity pool allowing investors to generate yield from tax credit receivables originating from US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) programmes.

Through Accru Finance's new service offering, digital asset holders will be able to invest their USDC, a stablecoin designed to track the value of the US Dollar, into a lending pool available on Maple Finance, an institutional lending platform in the DeFi sector. Accru Finance will use the lending pool's capital to invest in a portfolio of IRS tax credit receivables, enabling Accru Finance to offer returns to investors of up to 10% annually on the USDC deposited in the lending pool.

Accru Finance's portfolio is focused initially on lending against the tax credit receivables that the IRS is expected to settle within the short-term, ensuring that the lending pool maintains a high liquidity profile. Accru Finance has reduced the pool's counterparty risk as the lending pool is directly secured by the underlying receivables.

Accru Finance has created its portfolio of IRS-originated receivables by working in collaboration with Intero Trading LLC ("Intero"), a non-bank facilitator of traditional and digital funding mechanisms, whose founding team has executed over USD$2bn in receivables transactions. Intero sources the IRS tax credit receivables through its network of IRS tax credit originators. Intero performs both financial and operational due diligence screening, whereby originators are required to demonstrate a successful track record and pipeline of tax credit submissions, and the robustness of their back-office processes.

The launch of the lending pool builds on Accru Finance's efforts to develop new solutions that allow investors to use their digital assets to generate compelling returns, at low risk, from traditional financial instruments.

Philip Blows, Chief Executive of AQRU, said: "Offering services that can bridge the gap between the worlds of traditional and decentralised finance is a priority for us. Through the launch of our tax credit receivables programme, we're taking another key step in our efforts to enable customers to deploy their cryptocurrency holdings to generate significant real-world returns. We look forward to seeing retail and institutional investors worldwide take advantage of this opportunity to generate significant returns in the crypto and decentralised finance sectors." 

The Directors of AQRU plc take responsibility for this announcement.

For further information, please contact:

About AQRU plc:

AQRU is an incubator specialising in opportunities in decentralised finance (DeFi), a disruptive technology using blockchain and cryptocurrencies to remove financial intermediaries from transactions, creating a cheaper, more efficient and more secure way of providing financial services. Listed on the Aquis Exchange in London, we apply our expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of FinTech companies in the UK, USA and Canada, and act as an accelerator for start-ups and early-stage companies. www.aqruplc.com

About Intero Trading LLC:

Intero actively provides high-quality, dynamic, and holistic funding solutions that fully exploit the inherent commercial value locked in quality receivables and other real-world assets. Intero achieves this by bringing together traditional and digital investors, asset originators, and other enabling entities to create and execute funding transactions. Through its partners, Intero also provides additional capabilities in longer-term project finance and other blockchain enabled structures that are complementary to the shorter-term receivables programmes. https://intero.capital

About Maple Finance: 

Maple is an institutional capital network that provides the infrastructure for credit experts to run on-chain lending businesses and connects institutional lenders and borrowers. Built with both traditional financial institutions and decentralised finance leaders, Maple is transforming capital markets by combining industry-standard compliance and due diligence with the transparent and frictionless lending enabled by smart contracts and blockchain technology. Maple is the gateway to growth for financial institutions, pool delegates and companies seeking capital on-chain. https://maple.finance/

Notes to editors:

Liquidity pool: A liquidity pool is a collection of cryptocurrency funds grouped into a smart contract.