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Wirex to Launch 26 Fiat-Backed Stablecoins on the Stellar Network

By FF Newsroom · 25 April 2019

Wirex to Launch 26 Fiat-Backed Stablecoins on the Stellar Network
Wirex, one of the first UK FCA regulated providers of digital money solutions, has embarked on a ground-breaking new collaboration with Stellar to release 26 fiat-backed stablecoins for its 2 million+ users and 5000+ business clients. Stablecoins represent the future of tokenized payments. They mitigate the inherent volatility in the crypto market because their value is pegged to a stable asset. This means that stablecoins can be stored, transferred and exchanged without any significant change in value. Because Wirex stablecoins are fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, they can be used to perform low-cost, near-instantaneous international remittance. Integrating Stellar-based stablecoins onto the Wirex platform represents the point at which stablecoins transition from novel to practical – as well as several industry firsts:
  • The first stablecoins that can be spent seamlessly in day-to-day life using the multi-currency Wirex Visa card
  • The first stablecoins pegged to a wide variety of major fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, HKD and SGD with exchange at interbank rates
  • The first stablecoins that can be instantly converted to other stable digital currencies at OTC rates
  • The first stablecoins released by an FCA-regulated fiat and crypto payments company
Wirex stablecoins are built directly on Stellar, which was designed expressly for tokenizing assets and making payments. In addition to greater security and scalability, Stellar offers real-time transactions at a fraction of the cost of other blockchain networks. Fraudulent, suspicious or erroneous transactions can easily be frozen and retracted, ensuring that no one is left out-of-pocket – and giving consumers more confidence in their payments. Stellar-based Wirex stablecoins have myriad use-cases for retail and business clients, including:
  • International remittance
  • A cheaper and quicker alternative to Visa and Mastercard infrastructure
  • Instant token issue and redemption
  • Cryptocurrency hedging
  • Instant merchant settlements
The first stage of collaboration between Wirex and Stellar sees the launch of Stellar’s native asset, Lumens (XLM) to the Wirex platform - where it joins 19 other digital and traditional currencies that can be seamlessly converted and spent using the Wirex Visa card. “Joining forces with Stellar makes perfect sense for us,” said Pavel Mateev, Wirex co-founder. “Both companies share a greater goal – encouraging the mass adoption of digital currencies and transforming the way people make payments. We are thrilled to add XLM to the Wirex platform and even more excited to release our industry-first Wirex stablecoins.” “Stablecoins have the potential to transform the payments space,” said Jed McCaleb, Stellar cofounder.  “We’re excited to be working with Wirex to launch its first stablecoins to help make money more fluid and open to everyone.”

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