Bitcoin Goes Physical: Swiss Start-Up Launches Pilot Sale Of BTC ‘Banknotes’
Tangem, a start-up operating from and Singapore, has launched a pilot sale of physical notes of (BTC), according to a published May 3.
Tangem Notes, described in the press release as “smart banknotes” with a chip developed by Samsung Semiconductor, reportedly allow consumers to physically carry bitcoin stored in denominations of 0.01 (about ) and 0.05 BTC (about ). The first pilot batch, consisting of 10,000 notes, will be shipped from to potential partners and distributors around the world.
According to the press release, the idea behind creating physical notes of bitcoin was in part to increase the ease of spending crypto, “improv[ing] the simplicity and security of acquiring, owning, and circulating cryptocurrencies.”
Singapore has developed a reputation as a hub for and blockchain development in Asia. Recently, The Singapore Fintech Association and the Fintech Association of Japan a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on fintech development. Additionally, China and Singapore of gasoline entirely using technology in early April. In March of this year, Singapore’s central bank to using blockchain for cross-border payments.
Spontaneity is a good thing, but sometimes trying to accomplish something on the spur of the moment proves to be a challenge. When you’re expecting last minute guests, or putting together a just-planned party, one great trick to have up your sleeve is having plenty of gourmet snacks on hand.
With little or no time to plan, shop, or cook, knowing that there are some tasty tidbits ready to go in your home is a big stress reliever. There are a lot of packaged items that people often keep in their pantry. If you want to be able to impress your guests, make sure that some of those items aren’t boring or expected. Gourmet snacks, cheese snacks, and nuts become more interesting if they aren’t the kind you see on the shelves everywhere, or eat frequently.
Consider stocking up on the following items:
Cheese snacks: Forget plain crackers. No need to keep fresh cheese on hand. This type of cracker item provides it’s own cheesy flavor. They are great on their own or perfect for toppings, which leads us to the next item to have ready.
Gourmet spreads: Spreads that are in a jar have a long shelf life. Pop them open when you have only moments, and it’s a flavorful departure from mundane. They go great with cheese snacks, but are also good on breads. Look for sun-dried tomato spread, olive tapenade, mushroom spreads, or even roasted red pepper topping.
Nuts: Think beyond peanuts. Cans of wasabi almonds, honeyed cashews, or even exotic mixes are gourmet snacks that make for quick and easy finger food.
Dried Fruit: On their own, dried fruits are little more than a healthy nibble. Mix them with nuts, or use them on a cream-cheese spread and you have some easy appetizers to pull out at the last minute. Serve dried cranberries or figs and suddenly the cracker and cheese spread combo has gone gourmet!
While a last minute event may not have the same pizzazz as one you’ve planned for weeks in advance, it is possible to entertain without potato chips and onion dip. Making sure your home is supplied with some gourmet snacks makes entertaining easier. It can also help keep people from starving when you do want to take time to prepare a more elaborate dish.
Saving time and effort with easy finger food can make the thought of spontaneous entertaining seem a little less intimidating.
The latest data from bitcoin remittance app Bitwala reveals a growing trend in bitcoin adoption among citizens of developing countries.
‘Steep Adoption Rate’
Bitwala, a bitcoin-based remittance app, shared some in its blog post yesterday in which we can see that bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular in certain developing countries. The blog post reveals a “steep adoption rate” in developing countries both from Africa and Asia, the two continents with the highest number of unbanked citizens.
Bitwala reveals that, while their early adopters came from Europe and North America, the total number of sign ups from developing countries is catching up to those of Europe and the U.S, making up approximately 30% of new signups globally.
Among the developing countries, most are from North Africa, a region that makes up for 4.4% of its website’s visitors.
This growing trend among developing countries, where financial exclusion is the norm, reveals a growing need for the citizens of these countries to interact with the world economy and to access financial services, typically provided by banks. However, these regions are also the ones where banking service fees are the .
Bitwala explains:
At a cost of $4 billion per year, international transfers to Africa are the most expensive in the world. Furthermore, online and offline businesses also continue to pay a steep price for transferring money abroad or even domestically as the majority of banks charge between 10-19% on any transfers to, from and within African countries.
According to Bitwala, banks are not concerned with financial inclusion and prefer instead to charge higher fees in places where financial services are harder to access, taking full advantage of their monopoly in underbanked regions.
This is one of the reasons why bitcoin is regarded as a game-changer by some. It has the ability to bypass middlemen bank, enabling direct value transfer while empowering users while giving people more control over their money.
“The strength of bitcoin and the blockchain technology that it relies on is that it allows you to send money across borders without paying the steep fees charged by traditional gatekeepers like Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria and others,” Bitwala explains.
According to , the cheapest transaction fee for a bitcoin transaction is currently at around $0.50, or 0.0003616 btc. While, admittedly, not ideal for , it’s still cheaper than the 10-19% charged by banks on “any transfers to, from and within African countries.”
But bitcoin is not only about remittances. It also gives people access to a growing number of financial services including e-commerce, , and money management platforms, provided they have access to an .
As more and more people in these regions become aware of bitcoin and its ability to empower them and to give them access to financial services globally and at much lower costs, bitcoin will continue to attract users.
“People often say necessity is the mother of invention but I like to say necessity is also the mother of adoption,” Lightning CEO Elizabeth Stark says in the new documentary .
If there is a real use case that people need a technology for, they start using it.
Can bitcoin help citizens in developing countries achieve financial prosperity? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
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