Ask HN: We're building a saving app for European savers and need GTM advice
17 comments
I think you're doomed.
People who aren't crypto degens just want to "stop the insanity". Like drop you into a black hole and drop that black hole into another black hole.
It's kinda late to be into crypto, I mean, we are on internet time so in 2026 this is like the only music you listen to is Chuck Berry and Elvis.
People who aren't crypto degens just want to "stop the insanity". Like drop you into a black hole and drop that black hole into another black hole.
It's kinda late to be into crypto, I mean, we are on internet time so in 2026 this is like the only music you listen to is Chuck Berry and Elvis.
I hear you, but I think you're conflating crypto speculation with what's actually happening in financial infrastructure.
We're not selling tokens. Nobody using our product needs to know what a blockchain is. They see a savings account with a better rate that's it.
Meanwhile: Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1B for stablecoin rails. Société Générale is building on Morpho. Coinbase routes lending through it. YC just started offering checks in stablecoins and listed "stablecoin financial services" in their latest RFS.
This isn't "crypto" anymore. It's on-chain finance the same way "the internet" stopped being a category and became invisible plumbing. European banks pay 0.5%. Overcollateralized on-chain lending pays 4-7%. That spread exists because banks capture the margin. We remove the middleman.
The people who "want to stop the insanity" are exactly our users. They don't want crypto. They want their savings to not lose value. We just use better rails.
I guess the problem is that it seems like an opaque financial product. ETFs or crypto are not useful for "saving" but the risk profile is at least a known quantity.
The return you quote is a numeric range but there's no corresponding number or signal you provide for risk and we have to trust you. So, how can we trust you? Independent audits and deposit guarantees.
The return you quote is a numeric range but there's no corresponding number or signal you provide for risk and we have to trust you. So, how can we trust you? Independent audits and deposit guarantees.
we are based on moprho all transaparent and on chain, morpho is 9B+ deposits and also a lot of secuoty audits we are non custodial wallett on privy
The thing is that people like that would think messing with coinbase is like putting their hand in the toilet. Can't you make it so people don't have to visit that bad neighborhood and it seems like any other bank?
Today: you do a bank transfer, we handle the conversion through a fiat ramp, your money goes on-chain. You never touch Coinbase, never see a wallet address, never sign a transaction. You see a balance and it grows.
But honestly, we’re not fully there yet. The ramp still adds friction. The end state we’re working toward is pure web2 experience on web3 rails — feels like opening a savings account at any neobank. Deposit euros, watch your balance, withdraw to your bank. The stablecoins, vaults, and smart contracts underneath should be as invisible as SWIFT is when you send a wire today.
I’m not sure that your customer exists.
If someone wanted to “invest in crypto”, they have already done it by now and probably thinking to get more than a single digit percentage return[0].
You are offering a 4%-7% return that is only slightly higher than the promotional interest by fintechs[1] (where the money, up to a value, is guaranteed by the government).
[0]: https://www.8lends.io
[1]: https://www.eupersonalfinance.eu/articles/best-savings-accou...
If someone wanted to “invest in crypto”, they have already done it by now and probably thinking to get more than a single digit percentage return[0].
You are offering a 4%-7% return that is only slightly higher than the promotional interest by fintechs[1] (where the money, up to a value, is guaranteed by the government).
[0]: https://www.8lends.io
[1]: https://www.eupersonalfinance.eu/articles/best-savings-accou...
Our customer isn’t someone who “wants to invest in crypto.” It’s someone with €20K in a savings account earning 0.5%, who knows they’re losing to inflation but doesn’t want stock volatility or crypto complexity.
The fintech promos you linked are real competition but they’re promos. They last 3-6 months, then drop. The yield we offer is structural: it comes from borrowers paying interest on overcollateralized loans, not from a bank’s marketing budget.
You’re right that we need to be meaningfully better than promo rates to justify the tradeoff of no government guarantee. That’s exactly why EURc integration matters eliminating FX friction makes the real net return more competitive.
Aren't the people that want more than 0.5%, but don't want stock volatility, going to use a money market / fixed income fund?
this is an investement not a lending as this solution, the problems are cash liquidity ( in order to sell the instruet) upfront and downfront commision and yearly also
Why would your customer invest in your system instead of going directly to stocks/ETFs?
The people holding 10k€+ in cash/ bank savings account that I know are old, tech illiterate, afraid of investing, and oblivious to the effects of inflation. They simply store the money somewhere so they can use it later at a short notice.
With these people you have way too much friction with the Coinbase way. Even if you succeeded in convincing them they deserve yield, it will be hard to compete with investing tools that are integrated into their banking apps that show higher profits than you.
The people holding 10k€+ in cash/ bank savings account that I know are old, tech illiterate, afraid of investing, and oblivious to the effects of inflation. They simply store the money somewhere so they can use it later at a short notice.
With these people you have way too much friction with the Coinbase way. Even if you succeeded in convincing them they deserve yield, it will be hard to compete with investing tools that are integrated into their banking apps that show higher profits than you.
You’re right that tech-lilliterate retirees aren’t our customer. Our early adopter is 25-40, digitally comfortable, has money sitting idle not because they’re scared of investing but because they want liquidity and simplicity without decisions.
Stocks/ETFs are a different risk profile you can lose 20% in a quarter. Our yield comes from overcollateralized lending (150-200% collateral). It’s not risk-free, but it’s fundamentally different from equity exposure. We’re filling the gap between “savings account earning nothing” and “invested in markets with real volatility” — liquid, passive, stable yield. That gap doesn’t really exist in European fintech today.
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Is it possible to partner with an existing European bank: their distribution channels + your tech?
Incentives are aligned because if they can offer higher yields, they can scoop customers of competitor banks.
Incentives are aligned because if they can offer higher yields, they can scoop customers of competitor banks.
yep can be a good distribution but not for start the banks are very slow and we are also a early born startup
hey i have some friends who have accounts in neobanks simply because they have higher saving rates so i think that angle is very strong - and educational content can go a long way - believe the gap is very real and i think you will get where you want to go.
thanks, any idea in order to start distribution?
What we do today: Users deposit euros via cooinbase pay. We convert to USDC, split their deposit across multiple isolated Morpho vaults on Base chain (each with different collateral types and borrowers pledging 150-200% of what they receive), and they earn 4-7% APY. They see one number: their balance growing daily. No wallet, no gas fees, no tokens. We have apps built for both iOS and Android, currently in beta.
The market context: This category is exploding in the US. Axal (a16z CSX, $2.5M), Nook (Coinbase Ventures, $2.5M, ~7.6% avg APY, built by ex-Coinbase/Uber team), YieldClub ($2.5M), and Aave itself launched a consumer savings app with up to 9% APY and $1M deposit protection. They're all live or in waitlist. They all run on the same proven infrastructure (Morpho has had $8.5B in peak deposits, 25+ audits, backed by $69M from a16z and Coinbase Ventures, used by Société Générale).
But they're all US-first. ACH, Plaid, Apple Pay, USD-denominated. Europe 350M+ banking customers sitting at near-zero rates — has no equivalent. In the US you can get 4-5% at Marcus or Wealthfront. In Europe, most banks pay 0.5% or less. The yield gap here is wider, and nobody is serving it.
That's our bet. We're also working on EURc (Circle's euro stablecoin) integration so the entire flow stays euro-denominated — no FX exposure. That's something no US competitor can replicate.
What we want to build next: An AI agent that automates portfolio allocation based on each user's risk profile. You answer a few questions about risk tolerance, time horizon, goals the agent handles vault selection, rebalancing, entry/exit across DeFi strategies. Think Wealthfront/Betterment for crypto, not another trading bot. The multi-vault architecture on Morpho makes this natural: different risk profiles map to different vault compositions.
Where I need help:
Go-to-market for non-crypto users in Europe: Our target is the person with €10-50K in a savings account earning nothing, not crypto Twitter degens. Every crypto marketing channel attracts the wrong audience. We're running a waitlist with tiered bonuses (+2% APY for first 500 users, referral bonuses), but how do you actually reach normal savers? Has anyone cracked fintech distribution in Europe without burning cash on Meta/Google ads (which are restricted for crypto anyway)?
Driving traffic to the site: SEO/GEO is slow, content marketing takes months to compound, paid ads for crypto are a minefield. What's actually moved the needle for early-stage fintech in Europe? We're bootstrapped, so capital-efficient channels matter.
Trust for non-crypto users: We lead with radical transparency — every user gets a public on-chain link showing every deposit, earning, and withdrawal. We put risk disclaimers front and center ("this is not a bank account, never deposit what you can't afford to lose"). But is that enough? What trust signals actually convert skeptical Europeans?
The stablecoin savings app category is being defined right now. YC literally listed "stablecoin financial services" in their latest Requests for Startups. We think Europe is the bigger opportunity — the yield gap is wider and nobody's building here yet. Would love to hear from anyone who's built in this space.