Salesforce Co-Founder Launches Public Blockchain Network With Dollars Baked In
Public Mint puts dollars on the blockchain so users can use money whether or not they have bank accounts.
Jul 2, 2020 at 12:19 p.m. UTCUpdated Sep 14, 2021 at 8:58 a.m. UTC
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The latest venture from Salesforce co-founder and CNET founder Halsey Minor looks a lot like an attempt to recreate the legacy monetary system on a blockchain.
- Launched commercially last week, Public Mint says its "fiat native" blockchain makes transactions efficient and accessible.
- The platform is described as a programmable blockchain with fiat funds held in insured banks, enabling users to create their own "digital money systems."
- Users would transact in regular U.S. dollars using their smartphones, while the funds are held centrally by custodians.
- Companies using the platform can accept dollars via credit card, wire transfers and more whether or not they have a bank account.
- Support for other fiat currencies is expected to be added in the future.
- Public Mint is a fiat layer that is claimed to be supported by more than 200 banks – although they aren't named in a press release.
- The platform could be a solution for cryptocurrency firms that have had trouble accessing the traditional banking system, the firm says.
- Reportedly taking two years to build, it was founded by Halsey Minor, who was also behind CNET, Salesforce and crypto trading platform Uphold (formerly called Bitreserve).
- VideoCoin, another Minor venture, became one of Public Mint's first corporate users in late May.
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