Just found a very interesting interview with Richard Olsen:
Blockchain Will Absorb the World of Finance: Richard Olsen
OANDA co-founder and Lykke founder talks about the role for margin FX brokers in a blockchain ecosystem and more.http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/interview/blockchain-will-absorb-the-world-of-finance-richard-olsen-lykke-interview/The whole interview gives a lot of insights, but especially this parts shows a lot about what this project is and will be about:
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Why did you make the move between online forex trading and the blockchain world?
I have always wanted to transform foreign exchange markets into a level playing field, where everyone has equal access and can trade with ultra-thin spreads. I have been looking for a technical solution that could turn the dream into reality. In 2011, I discovered that blockchain technology was ‘the’ answer – so it was only a matter of time to find the right opportunity to launch the initiative.
(...)
So what role will be left for margin FX brokers in this new blockchain world?
The number of instruments and volume traded will explode; there will be three exciting business opportunities: retail traders will look to fx brokers as community and event organizers to gamify trading and to socialize with other traders. FX brokers will increasingly become community builders. This will provide them the opportunity to market third-party investment products and launch their own investment products.
And, about the wallet:
How has the market reception for the Lykke wallet on iOS been so far?
We have received a lot of praise for the user-friendliness of our wallet – we know that we are on the right track; I love the thrill of developing a product that has the potential to go viral.****************
What I find so interesting is: My impression is, that there is not just the wish to start a dynamic to get this known but a thought-out concept. Like I've said before, one of my concerns was, that I believed to see a lack of attention and that may be still the case. But since I know that they don't focus on selling out the ICO and obviously did not make big marketing for this like we know it from much other and in fact smaller projects (Lisk did a very good job regarding marketing their ICO - others as well), this ICO really seems to be more like a little first step, while it can be expected that they're able to increase intensity on all fronts.
And, what is also different: The usual Roadmap if a project does an ICO is:
1. Announcement - marketing
2. ICO - marketing
3. waiting - sometimes many months
4. Launch - exciting, but still not much to show
5. Development (if a good team) - price and volume very often go down
6. Releases (if a good team) - first time an Investor gets real and fundamental feedback if he bought quality
Lykke: They've nearly upturned that process. An already released first Product - now they go into the public and do an ICO. Plus: No waiting after the ICO. Market will take over immediately and it won't be a Crypto-exchange but another proof for their own product, because this will be on their own marketplace.
And if we have that in mind and focus again on their roadmap....
Margin trading (Q4 2016)
Regulated retail FX (Q4 2016)
Offchain settlement scalable to 100’000+ transactions per second (Q4 2016)
Ethereum support: multisig wallets, interblockchain atomic swaps (Q1 2017)
Payment system provider (Q2 2017)
Regulated institutional FX (Q3 2017)
Fixed income products, commodities (Q3 2017)
1 billion USD average daily volume (Q4 2017)
....and add, that this won't be just about Crypto but about all assets, including what Richard Olsen already did with Oanda (foreign exchange company), add the possibility that they will do bigger marketing..
That could be a good concept to get user for their exchange. This seems to be just a little first test while they have much bigger goals. They just start in Crypto.