Investors are increasingly being drawn to stablecoins as a fundamental cornerstone of the rapidly evolving crypto-asset landscape. In an industry characterised by volatility and unpredictability, stablecoins offer a refreshing sense of stability and reliability. These digital assets, typically pegged to traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar or backed by reserves, provide investors with a secure and predictable store of value within the crypto ecosystem.
The allure of stablecoins lies not only in their ability to mitigate the wild price fluctuations that often define cryptocurrencies, but also in their utility for various financial applications, such as facilitating seamless trading, enabling cross-border transactions, and serving as a bridge between the traditional financial world and the burgeoning blockchain realm.
Speaking at the recent London Blockchain Conference, Bernhard Müller (General Manager of Centi) noted that the launch of a Franc-backed stablecoin was a natural choice because of the company’s Swiss roots and connections to the financial industry. He added that the Franc is also a popular option because of its low inflation rate.
Bank-guarantees and protections
Müller explained that each holder of a stablecoin effectively has a claim of one Franc against Centi. This is further guaranteed by a Swiss bank which guarantees that should anything happen to Centi investors will still be able to get their money back.
‘This is why we argue that this is a new category of stable-coin which is not just fiat-backed but fiat-guaranteed. You know that a bank stands behind it with all of its risk management and risk averseness.
Once you are on this stablecoin, you can then freely transact with third parties. He added that the Centi Franc can be used at over 125 merchants, with this list growing weekly. It is curated directly by the team at Centi and includes everything from toys to wine and financial services. Müller explained that the process works as follows:
- The consumer tops up his wallet through a bank transfer;
- The amount gets converted into the digital CHF token;
- The consumer makes a payment by scanning the QR code on an e-commerce website;
- The digital CHF token is processed using peer-to-peer blockchain technology;
- The payment is received in the wallet of the merchant;
- The merchant’s website gets an API call that payment has been received;
- The digital CHF are converted by Centi to regular CHF which are sent to the merchant through a regular bank transfer.
Müller said that he now anticipates a substantial surge in micropayments in the future, particularly with the advent of tools like the Centi Swiss Franc. He noted that most stablecoins offered today are specifically built for arbitrage and not actual payments. According to him, businesses likely harboured a desire to explore micropayments even before, but the means to do so simply wasn’t available – until now.
Built on the BSV blockchain
Centi’s global payment network, built on the BSV blockchain, presents merchants with compelling benefits. Among these advantages are remarkably low transaction fees, enabling payments even for amounts smaller than a single franc without the burden of losing a substantial margin to intermediaries associated with credit card transactions. In contrast to Visa or Mastercard, which limit access to their application programming interface.
Through the use of its low-cost, frictionless and ultra-efficient transaction model built on a micropayments facilitation foundation, Centi’s global payment network combines all the advantages of cash and electronic payments with enhanced flexibility, value for money, and greater efficiency of digital solutions. It offers seamless integration with online, POS, and cashier payment systems, and it leverages blockchain technology to offer 90% cheaper fees than competitors like PayPal, VISA, and Mastercard.