TETHER is a next-generation financial platform that uses the Mastercoin Protocol to allow users to safely and instantly send and receive Dollars, Euros, Yen, anywhere in the world using the Bitcoin blockchain.
The Tether team is trying to develop a service that uses tokens to represent dollars. It’s a platform designed to allow moving currencies over the blockchain; Tether means a digital tie between a real-world asset and the digital assets backed by currencies.
This project was first revealed back in July when it was still branded as Realcoin, but soon after, the team decided the name change as an attempt to better express its true 2.0 functionalities using tokens to move currencies on top of the Bitcoin Protocol.
Tether is the latest and perhaps most high-profile project to attempt to use the blockchain’s functionality as a ledger to move digital tokens that represent real currency.
“Tether tokens are digital versions of the money you use every day, and are therefore as stable as their real-world counterparts.”
The team arranged important partnerships, including agreements with Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, as well as fellow Brock Pierce-backed startups Expresscoin, GoCoin and ZenBox, and now is fully prepared for launch.
Tether aims to become a foundational component of the bitcoin ecosystem, one that gains traction due to the stability of its tokens. Tether hopes to grow to form the backbone of government-backed cryptocurrencies, and the leader in blockchain-based alternatives
How does Tether work?
The number of Tether tokens in circulation will always equate to the dollars in its bank account, adding that there are no pegs or formulas that complicate the process for its partners.
Users can deposit their preferred currency (Dollars, Euros, Yen) or bitcoin, and then the platform issues Tether+, which are digital tokens that allow users to make transactions using the Bitcoin blockchain. Users can also convert Dollars, Euros, Yen and bitcoin into the platform first three Tether tokens: US+ (USD), EU+ (EUR), JP+ (JPY) for use on the Bitcoin blockchain. It will be also possible to hold and transfer value simply as bitcoin.
Every Tether in circulation is backed one-to-one with the matching currency in the platform reserve and can be redeemed at any time for its original asset. That means for every US+, EU+ or JP+ of Tether in a user’s wallet, the platform holds a real Dollar, Euro or Yen in a bank account.
The team has also expressed the wish to make the Tether platform fully transparent with regular audits. Every Tether+ is backed 100% by its original currency, and can be redeemed at any time with no exposure to exchange risk. In addition, customers can access a real-time balance sheet of Tether’s reserves, offering unprecedented access to the movement of assets and outstanding Tether in circulation.
The Tether Team:
Reeve Collins Co-Founder, CEO
Reeve Collins is the true definition of a serial entrepreneur. He has founded several successful ventures in the digital space. Collins began his career as the first media buyer on the Internet for A Quantive, which Microsoft acquired for $6.6 billion.
Craig Sellars Co-Founder, CTO
Craig Sellars leads the development of innovations on top of the Bitcoin blockchain for the Mastercoin Foundation, and acts in a variety of roles as co-founder, director, advisor or senior executive for several Bitcoin 2.0 projects including Factom, MerchantCoin, and the MaidSafe Foundation.
Brock Pierce Co-Founder, Advisor
Brock Pierce is a 15-time entrepreneur best known for pioneering the market for digital currency. Mr. Pierce has raised over $200mm on behalf of his companies and led over 30 acquisitions as prolific angel investor in alternative currencies.
The Tether team will seek to achieve some profit by charging a small fee to issue tokens; however, they intend to maximize the volume of these assets to keep costs for clients low. The Tether Platform will provide the first ever user friendly process for users to hold bitcoin avoiding volatility. By funding their account with bitcoin and to converting to Tether they will be able to maintain bitcoin as a stable currency and upon withdrawing it will automatically be converted back to bitcoin. Allowing this sort of currency pegging will most certainly be an option bound to attract newcomers. You can request an invitation today to join the private beta here