Walmart has registered a patent for the creation of a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. If that were to happen, it would compete with Facebook’s Libra.
Walmart is one of the world’s leading retail chains founded in 1962. It has already been talked about in the past, with regard to IBM’s hyperledger and the pharmaceutical sector, but now it is back on the blockchain and crypto scene.
The possibility of Walmart taking this step forward is not to be ruled out. All this is taking place after Facebook decided to announce its own Libra cryptocurrency and, later, has reported that it is not 100% certain whether Libra will ever be launched.
At the office known as the United States Patent and Trademark Office [USPTO] Walmart has released a report entitled System and Method for Digital Currency Via Blockchain, a true document explaining how to create a cryptocurrency, in this case, a stablecoin:
“A method comprising: generating one digital currency unit by tying the one digital currency unit to a regular currency; storing information of the one digital currency unit into a block of a blockchain.”
This patent filed by Walmart also indicates that the digital currency in question seems to also have the function of storing funds:
“The digital currency can provide a fee-free, or fee-minimal place to store wealth that can be spent, for example, at retailers and, if needed, easily converted to cash. Such accounts could even earn interest.”
The report continues:
“Digital currency may be tied to a national currency, such as the US dollar, so funds can be added or taken out easily. The digital currency value could, in some embodiment, be tied to other digital currencies.”
Walmart’s patent also shows that the cryptocurrency could get rid of the well-known credit and debit cards, as well as the fact that it could be used to pay for food.
Walmart has always been at the forefront of blockchain development. It has filed 54 patents in this field and Walmart China has launched a blockchain-based platform that tracks the chain of products from meat to rice. It has also recently taken part in the testing for the pharmaceutical sector together with IBM, KPMG and Merck.
