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| Source: LEOxCHANGE. Andersson speaks at the launch of LEOxCHANGE in Hong Kong, stressing that LEOCoin's high security levels can protect consumer privacy. |
Another digital currency has hit the streets. LEOCoin was officially launched in London on 25 March 2015 and its founders say it is recognised by other digital currency exchanges with some 100,000 entrepreneurs already supporting it in anticipation of its market debut.
UK-headquartered LEO, the company, stands for Learning Enterprises Organisation and offers entrepreneurship and leadership training through e-tutoring, e-learning and live seminars. LEOCoin was initially introduced as a demonstration tool to illustrate how digital currencies work as part of the LEO training programme.
In May 2014, Co-founders Dan Andersson and Atif Kamran decided to formalise LEOCoin as an actual digital currency which acted as a 'bonus' for successfully completing training modules.
Given the negative publicity many digital currencies have sustained, Andersson is not surprised at a sceptical public, and says it is all because other currencies are complicated, inaccessible and not user friendly. LEOCoin is more usable and accessible, with a high level encryption system that keeps track of all transactions and records for safety and privacy, say its co-founders.
The long-term sustainability is also one of the product features. LEOCoin has committed to releasing a maximum of 28,800 LEOCoins per day for a limited period of 99 years, equating to a total of 1 billion LEOCoins, after which no more will be generated. Under the foundation of a finite number of LEOCoins, the value is expected to increase as demand increases.
Andersson anticipates that LEOCoin will be in wide use within five years. "SMEs find transaction fees a concern when doing business abroad. With our transparent and straightforward operating system, we are confident to gain trust from users and thus help boost their scope for business," he said.
"The industry needs to do much more to establish its credibility. This is a very dynamic and fast moving area in financial services and we are aiming to bring digital currency into the mainstream."
LEOxCHANGE, the first online exchange of LEOCoin, was officially launched on 2 April in Hong Kong, allowing exchange members to make more direct, instant and secure transactions with LEOCoin, with no intermediary charging commission.
While the founders of LEOCoin say it is the second largest digital currency after Bitcoin, a simple Google search at the time of writing registers 48,500 instances of the name compared to 152 million for the more well-known BitCoin, reflecting a large gap in awareness for now.
