Abra CEO Bill Barhydt Talks the Future of Crypto and the Abra Digital Wallet
What was the inspiration for Abra? How did it all begin?
I started the company on the idea that cryptocurrency technology would lead to a revolution in global financial inclusion. Ultimately this would enable consumers both inside and outside of the traditional financial system to participate in a level playing field of access to; investing, payments and credit services with no traditional banks required. The current Abra app represents the first step in realizing this vision.
How do you choose the cryptocurrencies you decide to list on the app? Will more be coming?
The cryptocurrencies that are available on the app were chosen based on several factors tracked in real-time by Abra, and we plan to include other cryptocurrencies in the future as they meet our requirements. In particular, we look for: market liquidity, trading spreads, trading volume, market capitalization and a few other factors in our decision.
How do you choose the cryptocurrencies you decide to list on the app? Will more be coming?
The cryptocurrencies that are available on the app were chosen based on several factors tracked in real-time by Abra, and we plan to include other cryptocurrencies in the future as they meet our requirements. In particular, we look for: market liquidity, trading spreads, trading volume, market capitalization and a few other factors in our decision.
Can you explain the concept of the stablecoin and what that means for Abra?
Abra built a first-of-its-kind platform using price-stabilized crypto tokens, called stablecoins, that facilitates holding both fiat coins as well as cryptocurrencies through a combination of litecoin- and bitcoin-based smart contracts. This unique multi-sig smart contract based investment platform uses P2SH scripts on the litecoin and bitcoin blockchains that simulate investment contracts the way a gold ETF is a contract based on USD. Abra acts as the counter-party (i.e. the other signatory) to the P2SH scripts, and the company runs a market making operation that hedges away its counterparty risk on these contracts.
Through the use of our stablecoin platform, Abra can quickly add additional cryptocurrencies to the app once they pass the platform’s rigid analysis around liquidity, contract market making and other factors. Additionally, consumers in any country will eventually be able to invest in other asset classes regardless of where the asset originated. This model can be extended to stocks, bonds, commodities and more with minimal to no changes to the existing Abra app. Finally, Abra can be used today to send money to any other Abra user or to any bitcoin wallet in addition to investing, allowing Abra to become a crypto bank.
Where do you plan on taking Abra in the future?
Our vision is to build a non-custodial crypto bank that democratizes access to financial services for every consumer on the planet:
- investment access (starting with crypto/fiat contracts but eventually including other asset classes like stocks, bonds, commodities)
- payments and money transfer (you can do some of this with Abra today)
- credit services where my favorite example is hardware as a service using Abra’s smart contracts to facilitate payments.
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