A16z-Backed TrustToken Launches Stablecoin Pegged to UK Pound

Cryptocurrency startup TrustToken has launched its second stablecoin – one pegged 1:1 to the British pound.

Revealing the news exclusively to CoinDesk on Tuesday, the firm said its new TrueGBP token is now available for trading on over-the-counter (OTC) desks, including Alameda Research, Bluefire Capital, Galois Capital and QCP Capital. The firm is working to make it available for general trading on cryptocurrency exchanges soon.

TrueGBP will trade under the ticker symbol TGBP and will initially be backed by GBP funds held in U.S. escrow accounts, TrustToken said.

Rafael Cosman, the startup’s co-founder and head of engineering and product, told CoinDesk:

“Purchase and trade of TrueGBP will be available like any other ERC-20 token, and is compatible with all ERC-20 wallets. Customers who want to purchase or redeem through the TrustToken app will need to pass the regular KYC [Know Your Customer]/AML [Anti Money Laundering] requirements in accordance with our MSB [Money Service Business] license.”

TrustToken already offers a dollar-pegged stablecoin called TrueUSD, a product launched in March 2018. At the time, the firm said it plans to launch stablecoins linked to the yen, euro and other fiat currencies in the future.

Reiterating the point, TrustToken indicated Tuesday that TrueGBP is the “first of several” stablecoins planned for launch “in the coming months to open up new opportunities for payments, international remittances and foreign exchange.”

Cosman said in the statement:

“With TrueUSD, we have built the bridge between the fiat and crypto world, without being tied to any one exchange. Our goal in launching TrueGBP is to fully utilize this bridge to reduce the friction within global financial markets, to seamlessly increase the speed and decrease the cost of transferring value across global borders.”

The TrueGBP token is based on the same technical and legal standards as its dollar-pegged sibling, he added.

TrueCoin, LLC, the entity first created by TrustToken to oversee TrueUSD, is a registered MSB with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). It has now partnered with “independent state-licensed trust companies to manage the British Pounds backing TrueGBP,” according to the statement.

The firm raised $20 million in a strategic token sale with the help of major VC firms, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), last June.

Pound image via Shutterstock