An important development for Laos took place only days ago when it welcomed the first ever exchange with a certification to deal with cryptos. The exchange will provide transactions for seven currencies, both fiat and cryptos.
Laos welcomes Vientiane Exchange Money
Laos’ new exchange, Vientiane Exchange Money, is the first international exchange that allows for crypto transactions. This is a significant step for cryptos all around the world and the adoption of this technology. The exchange’s goal is to change the way that people think about and handle their money, as well as to provide new opportunities.
The exchange will roll out a completely new and unique line of ATMs, with various functionalities for the exchange of cryptocurrencies. The ATMs will be operational starting July 1st of this year and will process the same seven currencies that the exchange is currently listing. Those include Bitcoin (BTC), the US dollar (USD), Universal Currency (Unit), Thai Baht (THB), Russian Ruble (RUB), Lao Kip (LAK), and the Singapore dollar (SGD).
Previous attempts to join the crypto world
Hopefully, Vientiane will have more luck in its business operations than its predecessor, Lau Security Exchange. This exchange was launched in 2010, created by the Lao government. It was financially and technically backed by Thailand and South Korea, but it obviously came too early in order to be appreciated and trusted by local companies.
To this day, the exchange does not inspire trust and has only seven companies listed, with the total trading volume being only $60,000, or 503 million LAK.
Laos’ new exchange may have become a well-known project, but it is definitely not the first attempt to join the crypto world. Another project that many have had high hopes for, which revolved around a new coin, called Bananacoin, was launched last year, when Bananacoin’s team attempted to run an ICO and offer digital coins that were backed by bananas as a commodity.
Laos is known for growing and exporting bananas and this reputation was to be used to back the new cryptocurrency, similarly to how Petro is backed by oil. One kilogram of bananas was supposed to be the worth of each individual token, and the bananas in question are Lady Finger bananas, that Laos is exporting to China.
This project also faced skepticism and there were several controversies around it during that time. There were even claims that the whole project was a scam. The team behind the coin still managed to sell around 6.8 million coins, which is better than expected, considering the negativity regarding the ICO. Still, the total amount of offered tokens was 14 million, less than half of what they had in store.
