Nimiq, a browser-based blockchain, and decentralized payment system, recently announced its partnership with WEG Bank AG and Agora.Trade to create a crypto-to-fiat bridge. This strategic collaboration has now been further strengthened by Nimiq acquiring a 9.9% stake in WEG Bank.
As a result of this partnership and acquisition, Nimiq will continue dedicating their profound technical expertise to execute the project’s blueprint for Nimiq OASIS, a crypto-to-fiat bridge. This consumer-driven fin-tech solution is focused on delivering a fast and easy way to buy or sell cryptocurrency for fiat currency.
It aims to initially connect a) different cryptocurrencies markets–via non-custodial exchange Agora.Trade, to b) the traditional banking network – via WEG Bank. Value transfers between the two ecosystems are enabled by Nimiq OASIS making fiat currency “blockchain compatible”.
Furthermore, Nimiq’s solution allows for the processing of transfers without a single, centralized intermediary (like an exchange or payment processor) controlling the two assets being exchanged, and without entrusting the private keys of the crypto asset to a third party.
Nimiq OASIS has the potential to be a substantial win-win for Nimiq as well as WEG Bank, Agora.Trade, the wider crypto market, and other progressive thinking financial institutions. Nimiq OASIS is focused on serving traditional financial institutions and crypto markets by delivering a more cost-efficient and convenient way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with a bank account.
This could have a direct impact on:
- Retail banking customers at SEPA instant enabled banks, who want a quick and convenient way to buy and sell crypto assets for fiat currency.
- Current crypto-payment processor businesses, such as Bitpay, which are widely used by merchants accepting crypto as a payment option.
- $2.8 billion stable coin market.
- Over-the-Counter (OTC) market, which is reportedly three times bigger than the crypto exchange market.
WEG Bank and Agora.Trade are scheduled to be the first bank and cryptocurrency exchange to benefit from Nimiq’s technical expertise, with the end of 2019 as a target for the first such fiat-to-crypto transaction. Initially, support will be offered for cryptocurrency transactions in BTC, ETH, and NIM, with fiat currency support being offered for the Euro.
“With Litecoin and Tokenpay as existing shareholders, new clients including Lisk, and other key prospective partnerships, we believe WEG Bank is on the way to reinventing itself as a bank of the future. It’s existing stable real estate banking business gives it the stability it needs, while thoughtful expansion into the crypto space sets the stage for modern growth and innovation.”
– Elion Chin, co-founder of Nimiq
Nimiq’s vision for Nimiq OASIS beyond that is to support other fiat currencies like the USD and additional crypto assets as other banks and cryptocurrency platforms can also be enabled to interface with Nimiq OASIS and provide their customer base with a convenient and cheap way to buy or sell different cryptocurrencies with a bank account. Recently, Nimiq began a collaboration with the Binance-owned Trust Wallet, with founder Viktor Radchenko expressing an interest in OASIS.
“For the past 12 months, we have been looking at various ways to expand our core banking activities into the blockchain community. With Nimiq, we have been able to develop not only a landmark payment interface which has the potential to revolutionize the way we deal with cryptocurrencies, but also an innovative and powerful partnership.”
– Matthias von Hauff, CEO of WEG Bank AG