UK-based cryptocurrency project Electroneum has filed a patent for a technology which they claim will make crypto payments instant. There application is in a “patent pending” status, i.e. their intellectual property (IP) is now legally defensible.
While Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies have taken the world by storm, and a very high degree of interest has been generated worldwide, you still aren’t buying your coffee with Bitcoin or Ether. In other words, cryptocurrencies aren’t yet as widely accepted as our traditional payment methods, for e.g. credit card. The key factor preventing wide adoption is that the crypto payments aren’t instant.
Electroneum‘s solution, as described in their patent application, is following:
- The proposed system will allow subscription in cryptocurrencies;
- The subscription can be to the value of any fiat currency, for e.g. US $;
- The user can have their subscription in Electroneum (ETN) or fiat currencies per month or per week;
- A web interface will allow users to control their subscriptions and permissions;
- The proposed system is not confined to ETN only, and allows other cryptocurrencies;
- When a user adds another cryptocurrency into the Electroneum app, internally it will be converted to ETN;
- The user can make instant crypto payments using the subscription to any vendor that wants instant payment, and this way the user can take advantage of instant check-out.
Electroneum was developed in 2017 by a London, UK-based project team, and their CEO is Richard Ells. ETN is specifically designed for mobile users, which appeals to a potential 2.2 billion smartphone users worldwide. Their initial coin offering (ICO) was on September and October 2017, and their blockchain went live on November 1st 2017. The patent for instant crypto payment could see their fortune take a sharp upturn, due to high demand for technology that can speed up payment using digital currencies.
The number of patent applications concerning blockchain and cryptocurrencies are increasing steadily, for e.g.:
- PayPal has filed a patent application to expedite crypto payments;
- Royal Bank of Canada wants to put credit score on blockchain and make it transparent to consumers;
- Amex has filed patent for a technology solution that will use blockchain to improve speed of transactions.
