- Switzerland’s largest online retailer, Digitec Galaxus, recently started conducting stablecoin tests.
- The stablecoin in question was issued by the country’s second-largest bank, Sygnum.
- The firm already accepts crypto payments, although they are considered unpractical due to volatility.
Switzerland has been one of the European crypto hubs for a few years now, and it seemingly continues to work on being even more inclusive of digital coins. Recently, the country’s largest online retailer, Digitec Galaxus, started conducting tests for crypto transactions revolving around a bank-issued stablecoin.
Stablecoin payments might be coming to Digitec Galaxus
The coin in question is known as DCHF stablecoin, and it was launched by Switzerland’s bank, Sygnum. According to recent transactions, it appears that Digitex Galaxus is conducting trials with the coin and that it might be accepted as a payment method in the near future, alongside Bitcoin (BTC) and a number of altcoins.
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Digitec Galaxus is not new to using crypto. As mentioned, it already accepts Bitcoin, which has been the case for over a year, now.
It accepts BTC payments through a Danish crypto payments platform, Coinify. However, the crypto industry still suffers from strong volatility, which is why using digital coins for everyday shopping has been brought into question.
Meanwhile, the mentioned stablecoin, DCHF, was issued earlier in 2020 by Sygnum, which is a bank headquartered in Zurich. The coin is backed by Swiss francs, which are being held at the Swiss National Bank, similarly to how Tether (USDT) is backed with USD.
However, DCHF’s design is more similar to Facebook’s proposal of Libra, rather than Tether.
A potential to revolutionize e-commerce industry
Now, Digitec Galaxus group’s Galaxus seemingly decided to start testing the stablecoin in collaboration with Sygnum and Coinify itself. The experiment led to what is known as the world’s first e-commerce transaction that relied on a stablecoin issued by a traditional, regulated bank.
The move carries massive potential, as it could revolutionize the e-commerce industry, whose estimated value sits at $3.5 trillion. However, it is likely that it will bring some extra cost to consumers, as Coinify has a 1.5% conversion fee. This is still cheaper than using PayPal, although it is considered expensive for a digital coin. So far, it remains unknown when DCHF might become an available payment method. But, the fact that the company is conducting tests is certainly promising.