COTI created “Blockchain Dollars” a cryptocurrency wallet to help gaming merchants accept stable coins as a form of payment and then off-ramp to fiat all the while reducing their perceived Risk-Score imposed on them by credit card networks.
The 2020 case study below was written by COTI and it speaks volumes about the many applications for their DAG protocol, then and now.
Introduction
COTI was contracted as a technology provider to create Blockchain Dollars, a wallet, and payment system, using FIAT and stablecoins, that allows gaming merchants to accept stable coins as a form of payment based on a white-label version of COTI’s payment infrastructure.
This deal is signed and the product will launch in July (2020), with the first casino already signed up to accept Blockchain Dollars as a form of payment.
The first casino to use Blockchain Dollars is processing more than $10M a month. We’re also already in talks with several other casinos to use Blockchain Dollars and will be aggressively marketing this product to the gaming industry as a whole, once we have a live product in the market.
Our long-term goal is for Blockchain Dollars to become both synonymous with, and the payment method of choice, for the online gaming industry.
The casino name will be announced close to launch to keep our competitive edge in this competitive market. (update: the casino is Dafabet)
Problem
The online gaming market is a massive global industry, with an annual turnover of over $50B USD. Online casinos are considered high-risk merchants by all of the credit card networks, despite being fully regulated and compliant. Even the bigger names in the industry, publicly listed companies, like 888 and Betway, fall under this high-risk category.
This leads to numerous issues with accepting credit cards, restricting the merchants’ ability to maximize their revenue, while incurring high fees and limiting access both to and for consumers.
Many solutions have been developed over time as, due to the high revenues involved, the gaming industry presents a very lucrative opportunity for payment providers. However, most, if not all solutions are all based on the traditional payment rails, limiting innovation to be on top of old rails. So, whenever a new solution arises, it has to be built on top of the credit card networks, remaining with the same set of problems. It is very difficult to save processing costs when you are using the same credit card networks or asses risk differently when risk is determined by the credit card processor anyway.
Solution
Using COTI’s white-labeled payment infrastructure, we are creating Blockchain Dollars, a wallet that allows the user to buy, hold and transfer stable coins. We have designed a slick custodian wallet with an intuitive UI so that users that have no experience with cryptocurrencies will be able to use it with ease.
We are then integrating our own FIAT on-ramp, which has recently been upgraded to allow the processing of credit cards. The merchant gains access to an off-ramp with 35 fiat currencies, so both the consumer and the merchant can sell stable coins to FIAT. We also have our merchant tools, including our merchant CRM, and have created an API that allows any gaming merchant to integrate their existing technology with Blockchain Dollars easily.
Transactions will be mirrored to the Trustchain allowing the merchant instant settlement and increased transparency.
Advantages for the Merchant
With Blockchain Dollars, merchants can process more transactions from more consumers than they previously could, increasing the merchants’ revenue.
By using stablecoins, the merchant no longer has to worry about or carry the cost of chargebacks on legacy payment rails.
The increased transparency, provided by the Trustchain, creates more trust between the merchant and its prospective clients and consumers. Consumers no longer need to fear that a merchant will deny receiving payment.
Lastly, the “instant settlement” feature is wonderful for gaming merchants, as they are accustomed to being paid late due to their high-risk categorization.
It’s important to note that the solution will not be available where gambling is illegal, of course.
Business Model
Merchants pay a processing fee for each on/off ramp transaction as well as a network fee for using the Trustchain.
Total available processing volume is up to $120M a year with the first client and of course, this volume will be dramatically higher as we onboard further casinos.
Benefits for COTI holders
This type of solution is demonstrative of both the technological and strategic approach we have taken in targeting high-risk merchants and the many industries contained within that categorization. It further validates our overall business model and shows the demand that exists outside of the crypto ecosystem for the type of products and innovations we are able to support and develop by using our blockchain and merchant tools.
Every new use case in the many high-risk industries we target has the ability to significantly increase the revenue processed on our network. This benefits merchant, consumers, token holders, node operators, and stakers as well as COTI as a company.
Shahaf Bar-Geffen, COTI’s CEO:
“Blockchain Dollars is a game changer for the revenue-driven gaming industry. The first casino to be launched in July will grow our revenue and volume substantially and we expect more and more casinos to integrate with Blockchain Dollars, further validating our white-label strategy.
All fees, paid with COTI coins, will fuel our open market coin purchase program and the
transactions mirrored to the Trustchain will increase the overall network turnover and rewards for node operators and stakers.”
We’ll be posting further updates about Blockchain Dollars in the coming months and will also be revealing the casino name closer to launch.
