What Crypto Really Thinks About Litecoin's Banking Ambitions

Published on by Coindesk | Published on

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First revealed Wednesday, the Litecoin Foundation, the non-profit that develops the software that powers the sixth-largest cryptocurrency, bought a stake in a very real, non-crypto bank.

Was it a sign that crypto is becoming so powerful it will soon overturn the rule of banks?

Certainly that theory was well-represented in the initial reactions.... Indeed, the news had imaginations operating at full speed, with some going so far as to think that the crypto industry might be on a bank buying spree.

Specifically, the Litecoin Foundation acquired 9.9 percent in WEG Bank AG, a small firm with one office in a German town called Ottobrunn.

In May, TokenPay announced it had bought 9.9 percent of WEG Bank AG, at the time saying it was going to help the bank develop fintech solutions.

The press release also said TokenPay had an oral agreement to bring another, "World renowned" company to the partnership, and that it was in negotiations with another bank in Liechtenstein.

A TokenPay employee later explained that the new partnership will help the bank facilitate and speed up transactions using blockchain, at the same time reducing transaction fees.

Wasn't the whole point of crypto to escape the world of banks and build a new one, with no banks, no central banks, no old financial infrastructure and rules?

While the news sounded game changing, it didn't cause any change in litecoin's price dynamics.

As the news shows, you just can't please everyone in crypto!

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