Can security and transparency in DeFi truly collaborate?
Our recent AMA with HAPI made us think about blockchain security in completely new ways.
Alex from HAPI’s business development team joined our SwapZone AMA session to discuss anti-money laundering solutions, DeFi security challenges, and the future of blockchain intelligence.
Here’s what we learned and why it matters for your trading safety.
About the Projects
For newcomers, SwapZone is a crypto exchange aggregator that compares real-time offers from dozens of providers. Our mission is simple: make crypto swaps transparent, fast, and fair. No hidden fees, no complications. We’ve been doing this since 2019.
HAPI focuses on security solutions for DeFi and crypto projects. Alex explained that they work with anti-money laundering solutions, KYT (Know Your Transaction) technology, and digital identity verification. “We help projects across the DeFi space to be more secure, to be more knowledgeable about their user base and to know how to make the data they have more intelligible.”
HAPI’s Market Approach
When asked about affordability and which protocols benefit most from HAPI’s solutions, Alex was direct: “Our offerings are mostly targeted towards midsize or just startups within the DeFi and crypto space.”
HAPI also works with exchanges like KuCoin and WhiteBit Exchange, providing them KYT solutions. “When it comes to affordability we definitely have an edge as I mentioned and our offerings can be used both by midsize and startups but we also can accommodate more experienced players within the market.”
DeFi vs Traditional Security
The conversation revealed a key insight about security challenges in decentralized finance.
“The main difference is traditional finance security solutions can be quite straightforward but when it comes to DeFi and crypto there are a lot more ground to cover,” Alex explained.
The reason? Blockchain’s core principles create unique challenges. “Since the whole idea of blockchain is transparency and openness—open ledger and every transaction is viewable, every smart contract is readable and everything is in the open—there are just so much more ground to cover, so many loopholes to be aware of.”
Interestingly, centralized exchanges operate differently. “When it comes to centralized exchanges, there’s basically no difference between traditional finance and centralized exchanges. But when it comes to DeFi there’s definitely a lot more to account for.”
Digital Identity Solutions
HAPI’s approach to identity centers around their proprietary solution called HAPI ID. “It uses proprietary algorithms to basically help us to calculate the reputation score,” Alex explained.
This reputation scoring helps solve a major DeFi problem: distinguishing real users from bots and farmers. “What it helps protocols with is to identify the most active users and hopefully reward them and incentivize even more users to come real users to come and interact with the protocol.”
The goal is clear: “End users get rewards fair rewarded and protocols get real users who actually interact with the protocol that they’re building instead of being flooded by bots, Sybils and inactive users.”
Blockchain Intelligence Differentiation
When asked what sets HAPI apart from established platforms like Nansen and Dune, Alex drew a clear distinction:
“The main difference is the fact that they are mainly analytical. So they provide intelligible data sets and data in general that you can basically look it up and see portfolios, wallet states, what’s going on on chain, but it’s mostly about reading the information instead of acting on the external stimuli.”
HAPI takes the opposite approach. “HAPI is more about acting and when it comes to Dune and Nansen, it’s more about read than act. So that’s the main difference.”
User Security Best Practices
The discussion included practical security advice for DeFi users. Alex emphasized common mistakes: “Sometimes you just sometimes you just forget to double check the address. So you send to the wrong address or you send to smart contract address which makes your transaction irreversible and you lose your assets.”
Key recommendations included:
Avoid Scams: “If something sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a scam. You should be on the lookout for anything that promises a quick way to get rich, a quick way to get any kind of reward without any action.”
Digital Hygiene: “You need to be also cognizant about the clicking on any links, responding to any DMs and also being knowledgeable about the fact that you shouldn’t connect your wallets to any of those websites that you do not trust.”
Use Security Tools: “There are certain security extensions that can help you to identify phishing websites if you’re not sure in your own common sense.”
Our SwapZone team added: “Don’t rush into urgent offers because scammers are always in a hurry and they are trying to say you that they have an offer and it’s really urgent.”
HAPI’s Unique Security Features
Alex outlined what makes HAPI’s security solutions different:
Transparent Data: “We have a solution within HAPI suite of products that basically allows for on-chain data which is helpful because it’s transparent and open to users. Anyone can go and check if certain addresses are involved in any malicious activity on chain.”
Affordability: “This transparency is great for projects because it’s free of charge and gives you the basic AML protection that might help startups to at least get their foot on the whole AML system.”
Easy Integration: “Our digital identity solution is quite unique since it uses proprietary algorithms that we built based on the risk assessments for our KYT. It’s also plug and play so it’s easy to integrate into your existing project—you don’t need to fiddle with any code. It’s basically just an API call.”
The Future: AI and Blockchain Intelligence
When asked about AI’s role in blockchain intelligence, Alex explained the transformation happening: “AI helps to make the data that you already have more dynamic and more adaptable. Without AI you have just static data that does not react to the changes.”
The key advantage: “AI helps to react on and without AI you are just acting on something that already has happened. AI makes it easy to prevent and predict what is about to happen.”
For unlimited budget scenarios, Alex emphasized data as the crucial element: “The more data you have, the bigger reach you have, the more advanced solutions you have. AI needs a lot of data and a lot of data means a lot of costs.”
Addressing Misconceptions
Alex clarified common misunderstandings about HAPI’s mission: “People misunderstand that we act as the sole judge of who’s allowed to enter certain protocols, certain exchanges or who’s allowed to do what. Some people also think that we blacklist addresses.”
The reality is different: “From our side what we are trying to do is to focus more on the raw data. Make data intelligible, make data accessible and make sure that protocols can use that data efficiently to prevent money laundering schemes and prevent malicious actors from stealing assets from users.”
Looking Ahead: 2025 Plans
HAPI’s Development Focus
Alex outlined their key priorities: “We’re right now focused very heavily on rebranding. We’re also focused on our new AI solution that hopefully will help not only our clients and our B2B side but also will be helpful for users.”
He also shared practical security advice: “You shouldn’t write your private key on a piece of paper and hide it behind your drawer somewhere in your room. Instead, you should invest in a cold wallet.”
He added with a knowing tone, “I can bet 10 HAPI tokens that someone on this call has their private keys saved in their Telegram messages.” Don’t keep them in saved messages on Telegram, please.”
SwapZone’s Approach
Our team emphasized our user-driven development: “We have a lot of plans and features to improve our UI and UX design, and it’s really important for us to know that all these features are useful for our users. In the vast majority of cases, we work with feedback from our users.”
Final Thoughts
This AMA highlighted how security and transparent trading can work together in DeFi. While SwapZone ensures fair pricing and transparent exchanges, HAPI builds the security infrastructure that makes DeFi safer for everyone.
As Alex noted, “It was great to respond to some of the questions. Some of them were quite interesting to dive deep into, and I’m excited to deliver on our roadmap by the end of this year.”
Both projects demonstrate that DeFi’s evolution depends on solving real problems while maintaining the decentralized principles that make blockchain technology valuable.
Trade HAPI on SwapZone Today
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SwapZone hosted this AMA session with HAPI to discuss security technology and trading solutions. The information provided is educational and does not constitute investment advice. Always conduct your research before making investment decisions.