Can MintChip Be Used To Do Fiat Conversions To or From Bitcoin?

[usscfounder]

Can MintChip Be Used To Do Fiat Conversions To or From Bitcoin?

MintChip is pegged to the Canadian dollar I believe. Is there a way to use this method to do fiat conversions of cryptocurrency without having to register as a "money transmitter"?

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[bitcoinnewscan]

As of right now it is not being used by the public. They just completed a challenge for app development and the timeline has yet to be released. I doubt the canadian mint will allow bitcoin to be used as a currency.

@bitcoinnewscan

[usscfounder]

Quote from Wikipedia:

MintChip is a digital currency concept that enables digital transactions backed by the Government of Canada and denominated in a variety of currencies.

Can anyone verify if the U.S dollar is one of those currencies?  If it is then there is the solution to all of the liquidity problems the cryptocurrency community is facing. I don't know if they mean other (foreign) currencies or just the Canadian denominations?

[BCB]

We'll probably never hear from mintchip again.

It was evidently a crowded sourced proof of concept that came and went.

Using it to buy bitcoin was voted the most popular app in the "public" voting but it did not even warrant a mention in the contest

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76410.msg848198#msg848198

[usscfounder]

http://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2013/04/19/bitcoin-outshines-canadas-stalled-mintchip/

I guess not.

[bitcoinnewscan]

I think BCB is correct.  I liken it to the amazon coins. Too restrictive. I doubt Canadians will see this go mainstream.

[coinguycanada]

Actually according to Royal Canadian Mint it's not dead yet

" MintChip is still in the R&D phase, and we continue to consult with key stakeholders."https://twitter.com/MintChipRCM/status/329927305050861569

It would be cool if it could integrate with Bitcoin

[luv2drnkbr]

Theoretically, yes.  The difficulty of getting fiat online is digitizing it.  If you secure it by not letting users print it at will, but instead at a either known rate or entirely pre-mined, then it is secure, but it's value fluctuates with market demand.  If you have genuine fiat and it can be printed at will by somebody, then you can't trust the value of it.

The only solution is indeed something like mint chip-- a directly government/bank controlled digital fiat that is made by government/bank, thus minting doesn't matter because it's government/bank BACKED.  Thus it's value is locked (as much as inflationary fiat can be).  It doesn't make for a great alternative currency in its OWN right, but it DOES make for a FANTASTIC transition intermediary to get fiat digitized, so that it can then be traded and exchanged into bitcoin.

There was a thread somewhere around here proposing dUSD, or digital USD, an alt chain pegged to USD.  The problem is, the only way to peg a digital alt-chain to a currency is to have a large entity that buys and sells on par with the currency, one which is large enough to be bigger than any reasonable market, thus negating market forces from trading at prices that aren't on par with its physical counterpart.  Unfortunately, there's really only one entity with such power to do this: governments.

But that's a GOOD thing.  We should ENCOURAGE governments to create digital currencies pegged to fiat, because once it's digital it can go anywhere, like into bitcoin.  So buying and selling become MUCH easier with government backed digital currencies.

[StarfishPrime]

Mintchip will most likely never launch. If it does, don't expect it to go anywhere (Remember Mondex, Visa Cash, etc?)

One of the former developers - or at least someone claiming to be - came out a while ago and exposed the whole thing as having all kinds of AML features and backdoors built in from day-one. After all, it is a government system.

In the promotional competition, the suggestion with the most votes for "What to use MintChip for" was "to buy bitcoin" (lol)

MintChip is dead in the water for sure, destined to remain nothing more than just another ice cream flavor.

[OceanWhispers]

Theoretically, yes.  The difficulty of getting fiat online is digitizing it.  If you secure it by not letting users print it at will, but instead at a either known rate or entirely pre-mined, then it is secure, but it's value fluctuates with market demand.  If you have genuine fiat and it can be printed at will by somebody, then you can't trust the value of it.

The only solution is indeed something like mint chip-- a directly government/bank controlled digital fiat that is made by government/bank, thus minting doesn't matter because it's government/bank BACKED.  Thus it's value is locked (as much as inflationary fiat can be).  It doesn't make for a great alternative currency in its OWN right, but it DOES make for a FANTASTIC transition intermediary to get fiat digitized, so that it can then be traded and exchanged into bitcoin.

There was a thread somewhere around here proposing dUSD, or digital USD, an alt chain pegged to USD.  The problem is, the only way to peg a digital alt-chain to a currency is to have a large entity that buys and sells on par with the currency, one which is large enough to be bigger than any reasonable market, thus negating market forces from trading at prices that aren't on par with its physical counterpart.  Unfortunately, there's really only one entity with such power to do this: governments.

But that's a GOOD thing.  We should ENCOURAGE governments to create digital currencies pegged to fiat, because once it's digital it can go anywhere, like into bitcoin.  So buying and selling become MUCH easier with government backed digital currencies.

Very old thread but this needs to be quoted