> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nofi.money/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nofi.money/current-gaps.md).

# Current Gaps

{% hint style="warning" %}
Crypto has spent a decade promising to fix banking and has mostly built better **trading products** instead.
{% endhint %}

Before explaining what NØFI does, it's worth being precise about what's actually broken. The financial system serving emerging markets is failing hundreds of millions of people — and crypto's answer so far has been tools built for traders, not for people who just want to get paid and spend what they earn.

## The Gap at a Glance

| Problem                      | Who It Hurts                          | Current "Solutions"      | Why They Fail                      |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------- |
| **Currency devaluation**     | 400M+ earners in LatAm & SEA          | Local bank accounts      | Savings lose 15-50% annually       |
| **No self-custody spending** | All stablecoin holders                | CEX-linked cards         | Custodial, counterparty risk       |
| **Broken on/off-ramps**      | Freelancers, creators, remote workers | P2P trades, manual swaps | 5-10% fees, day-long delays        |
| **No credit on-chain**       | Anyone without local bank history     | Nothing                  | Credit requires distribution first |
| **Privacy erosion**          | Users in unstable jurisdictions       | KYC-heavy neobanks       | Accounts frozen without warning    |

The following pages break down each gap in detail — with the data, the scale, and why existing solutions fall short.

* The Underbanked Reality — The $3T problem hiding in plain sight
* Wallets Aren't Banks — Why self-custody alone isn't enough
* Fiat/Crypto Interoperability — The on/off-ramp bottleneck
* Stablecoins Today — $200B in circulation, almost none spent as money
* Privacy — A requirement, not a feature
* Credit & Access — The last mile to replacing a bank


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