Switzerland and Singapore-based Tangem, the new smart banknote platform, is creating ready-to-spend physical Bitcoin in the form of smart banknotes. The banknotes use a recently developed S3D350A chip from Samsung Semiconductor to store cryptocurrencies.
With or without a Goldman Sachs cryptocurrency trading desk, and whether or not we’re in a Bitcoin bear market or bull run, and despite Warren Buffet believing Bitcoin is exponentially more toxic than rat poison, buying or selling Bitcoin is cumbersome. You need to manage private keys with your own wallets, or pass Know Your Customer requirements in order to open an account on a digital currency exchange. If you’re digitally transferring Bitcoin from one wallet to another to make a payment, be prepared for an extended wait along with fees that seem unjustified when you’re just trying to use Bitcoin like regular cash.
Detractors keep saying it: Bitcoin is too cryptic and too inaccessible for mainstream shoppers at the mall who want the ease of cash and credit cards.
Tangem wants to change that.
To entice the average newcomer who has no interest in cryptography, mining or keeping track of long and random alpha-numeric strings, Tangem Notes are available at retail outlets in denominations of 0.01 and 0.05 BTC.
The company says it is currently mass producing millions of the smart banknotes at an estimated cost of $2 per unit. Singapore will be the first test market for the Bitcoin banknotes which contain nine levels of physical protection.
“The tamper-proof chip technology has been developed and continuously improved for decades for military and government applications — like identification and access control, or for the financial services and telecom industry, recent credit cards and SIM cards. The technology addresses all known attack vectors on hardware and software levels.”
Operating out of Switzerland and Singapore with manufacturing in South Korea and Southern China, with research and development in Taiwan, Russia, and Israel, Tangem is developing “distribution and commercial partnerships to physically get this technology in the hands of billions of people around the world.”
The company is delivering the first shipment of 10,000 production notes to prospective partners and distributors around the world for commercial pilots.
