Singapore entrepreneurs aim to introduce bitcoin into everyday life

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As a currency only valid in the online world, bitcoin is struggling to step into real life.

TenX, a blockchain startup in Singapore, has come up with a solution to introduce not only bitcoin but also other cryptocurrency into everyday commerce.

TenX Visa card. /Photo via TenX

By using the company’s Visa card, TenX can convert multiple digital currencies into valid money such as dollars, yen and euros.

A two-percent cut will be taken from every transaction by the company, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The blockchain startup has also developed an app that functions as a digital wallet to connect to its Visa card.

When customers swipe the card at a cafe or restaurant, the merchant is paid with local currency and the users' crypto account is debited.

“You’re mixing two worlds that are night and day,” Julian Hosp, co-founder of TenX told Bloomberg.

“When the user spends the cryptocurrency, we have to instantly switch these currencies to fiat and pay to Visa straight away. It’s a lot of pathways," he said.

Users' crypto account is debited when swiping TenX card at a cafe or restaurant. /VCG Photo

The Singapore-based company has raised approximately 80 million US dollars from a token sale in June, with about 50 percent to be used to expand operations while the rest will provide liquidity for a cryptocurrency exchange in the works, said Hosp.

As forerunner, TenX has advantages in the market but there will be competition when major financial institutions and venture capitalists with direct access to clients and databases join the game, Mati Greenspan, an analyst from Israel-based at social trading platform eToro told Bloomberg.

“It’s an incredible concept. At the end of the day, it’s going to depend a lot on customer relations. Are they meeting the customers’ expectations? Can somebody else do it better?” Greenspan added.

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