BCP Applied sciences, a United Kingdom-registered cryptocurrency agency, has launched a brand new British pound-backed stablecoin.
The corporate revealed the rollout of its Tokenised GBP (tGBP) stablecoin in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on June 3.
TGBP is now live on BCP Applied sciences-operated crypto buying and selling platform, BCP Markets, and is out there to clients who cross Know Your Customer checks, with main exchanges anticipated to checklist tGBP within the coming weeks.
“There are two giant exchanges that we’re finalising particulars with. We hope to have the ability to announce these within the following weeks,” BCP Applied sciences CEO Benoit Marzouk informed Cointelegraph.
“Live proof-of-concept for future FCA stablecoin regulation”
TGBP’s launch comes days after the UK Monetary Conduct Authority launched a public session on proposed new rules for stablecoin issuers and crypto custody suppliers on Might 28.
In line with Marzouk, BCP Applied sciences is in a novel state of affairs the place tGBP could be thought-about a “live proof-of-concept for future FCA stablecoin regulation.”
“BCP works carefully with the FCA, and can take part within the FCA roundtable dialogue on July 4 on the not too long ago printed session paper,” the CEO mentioned.
The launch follows a 14-month submission course of as a brand new product within the FCA Join and a one-month evaluate within the FCA regulatory sandbox.
1:1 stablecoin issued on Ethereum
TGBP is backed totally with money held in a segregated checking account, with every token minted representing 1 British pound. The stablecoin is launched as an ERC-20 token, which means that it’s initially issued on the Ethereum blockchain.
“BCP proposes sooner or later to again tGBP with short-term UK authorities bonds, according to the FCA dialogue paper,” Marzouk informed Cointelegraph.
Appearing because the issuer, BCP Applied sciences has been an FCA-registered crypto asset service supplier since 2021, previously generally known as BitcoinPoint, according to official FCA information.
“Traditionally, it was a platform ‘BitcoinPoint’ to democratise entry to Bitcoin, the place anybody may purchase Bitcoin simply,” Marzouk mentioned, including:
“When the regulation got here in 2020, BCP needed to cease money and pivoted right into a extra normal ‘purchase on-line’ app. BCP was the primary crypto firm to implement open banking; you may purchase Bitcoin by linking your checking account immediately.”
A number of use circumstances
At launch, tGBP targets a broad vary of use circumstances, together with self-custody for retail and firms as a substitute for banks, cross-border funds, institutional collateral administration and decentralized finance lending.
The brand new stablecoin can also be anticipated for use as the principle pound rail for settling tokenised property like bonds, securities or actual property, Marzouk mentioned.
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“Stablecoins allow open, immediate, and frictionless transfers, free from volatility. Our imaginative and prescient is to summary the complexity of blockchain with the familiarity of a GBP denomination, finally changing GBP e-money with our GBP stablecoin,” the CEO acknowledged within the announcement.
Restricted availability of pound stablecoins
BCP’s launch enters a market with restricted competitors.
According to knowledge from CoinGecko, there are solely two tracked pound stablecoins on the time of writing, together with VNX British Pound (VGBP) and Celo British Pound (CGBP), with a mixed market cap of lower than $500,000.
Different pound stablecoin initiatives embrace the “poundtoken” (GBPT) stablecoin launched by Blackfridge in 2022 and a pound (GBPA) stablecoin developed by the Digital Pound Basis member Agant.
Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDt (USDT), attempted to launch a pound stablecoin in 2022, nevertheless it has not achieved vital adoption out there.
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