After Goldman Sachs came down with its own cryptocurrency (Circle USD Coin – through its startup, Circle), now the next digital asset tied to another fiat currency is coming to life. The idea of “stablecoins”, or digital currencies whose value is pegged to a fiat currency is a rather innovative idea, one that some argue is in contradiction with the whole blockchain – bitcoin – decentralization idea.
However, STATIS, a blockchain platform that tokenizes every asset has created the first cryptocurrency pegged to the euro – EURS. The company itself specializes in free monetary flow between off-chain and on-chain digital assets, as Merkle describes it.
EURS will not only be the first cryptocurrency pegged to the euro, but also the first to be built on Ethereum’s EIP-20 standard. Even more interestingly, KPMG, one of the Big Four audit companies in the world, will be the one to verify and update all EURS reserves.
The benefits of involving such a well known financial player in the development and “life” of the cryptocurrency can also be debated, since the entire idea of blockchain is to be decentralized. While stablecoins may be coming with full force in times when governments and banks are trying to crack down on cryptos, the idea of marrying digital and fiat currencies may not be such a revolutionary idea after all.
Nevertheless, STATIS will use EURS to allow users to exchange it for different assets such as bonds, stocks, Treasury bills and many more.
According to press, the expectations on the development and popularity of EURS are quite optimistic, as the team expects orders to reach the staggering number of $500 million before the end of 2018.
The Merkle reported the comments of STATIS’ CEO, Gregory Klumov:
“EURS bridges the gap between traditional finance and the cryptoeconomy. While cryptocurrency trading is currently dominated by individual and retail investors, STASIS and EURS will pave the way for institutional investors to enter the game and begin allocating capital. That’s what’s needed to take the industry [above] the trillion dollar mark.”