The issuance of a regulatory-compliant stablecoin, pegged to the Great British Pound, remains one of Stratis’s core focuses. As mentioned in a recent article that touched on Why the world needs a GBP stablecoin, it’s clear that use cases are abundant regarding stablecoins; however, being regulatory compliant and providing transparent proof of one-to-one backing is crucial – this has been made apparent by the enormous fines imposed on those who have failed to retain a clear one-to-one backing of funds, or, have operated in jurisdictions without the required regulatory approval.
Leading experts are currently assisting Stratis at CMS Law. CMS are the only UK law firm to employ a crypto industry business specialist to work with their lawyers on project validation. Stratis has also enrolled a new Compliance Officer to complement their engagement with CMS. The successful candidate was instrumental in building a compliance department at a leading innovative UK liquidity provider. The new team member will be heading up all compliance matters to ensure Stratis remains regulatory compliant within all its business affairs.
While there may be a somewhat understandable reluctance to utilize public blockchain infrastructure, the acceptance of digital currencies within the public domain excites those at Stratis, sparking creative thought on how government can employ logic within smart contracts to dictate public spending. Many use cases become possible through accepting and supporting a digital currency or “Smart Money” within the public and private sectors. A digital pound, a term ‘coined’ by the Bank of England, is undoubtedly becoming more of a reality with the recent publication of consultation and working papers issued by the Bank of England. Stratis believes that a secure, public and decentralized blockchain is the rational choice to issue a digital pound.
Stratis is continuing to broaden its reach by focusing not only on the UK but also on Europe. Stratis is also applying to SEPBLAC (The Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences) to register as a Virtual Asset Service Provider. Once again, Stratis has engaged with CMS (Spain) to assist with the application, leaning on their expertise and experience. A successful application will enable Stratis to provide liquidation services as part of a separate business future that it will unveil in the near future.
The technology that makes the GBPT offering possible has already undergone internal testing. If Stratis can attain an FCA registration, this will enable Stratis to provide an end-to-end solution through its registration as a Payment Initiation and Account Information service provider. Stratis’ ability to deliver an end-to-end solution without reliance on an external party for services such as Open Banking presents the possibility of the GBPT solution being made available, at ease, for different currencies in the growing list of countries that are beginning to adopt the Open Banking standards.
As per usual, exciting times await Stratis.
