We support the core values ​​of Bitcoin

Estonia’s LHV Bank was one of the first financial institutions to embrace Bitcoin and blockchain.

Since 2014, LHV Bank has been committed to researching the application of this emerging technology, establishing a partnership with Bitcoin startup Coinfloor and providing banking services to Bitcoin exchange Coinbase. In June last year, LHV Bank even launched the Cuber wallet based on the Bitcoin blockchain wallet application, allowing users to send digital euro cash.

LHV Bank said that it will continue to expand its experiments with Bitcoin technology in 2016, and their goal is not just to "create another wallet." In a recent interview,尤里•劳尔, LHV Bank's digital currency product manager, revealed his company's current projects and continuously updated industry papers.

Lauer told CoinDesk that LHV Bank is interested in both digital currencies and distributed ledger technology applications:

“We support the core values ​​of Bitcoin, such as decentralization and open source permissionless innovation. However, given that we are a bank, we must operate within a certain legal framework and take all regulations seriously, which sometimes limits our options.”

LHV Bank’s openness to digital currency use cases stands in stark contrast to other financial institutions’ attitudes that see little merit in digital currency applications of the technology.

Raul said:

“Permissioned blockchains are suitable for certain use cases, but they also lose many of the key values ​​of the technology.”

For his part, Lauer said LHV Bank has been continually trying to be “blockchain agnostic,” so that if an alternative blockchain were to one day become widely adopted, it could ensure it could adapt to that scenario.

For example, he cited the example of his bullishness on Ethereum, and during a recent visit to Estonia by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, LHV Bank invited Vitalik to meet him.

Cryptocurrency 101

When it comes to the size and scope of LHV Bank’s internal initiatives, Lauer said the bank has not yet set up a separate department, but noted that the company is taking proactive steps to ensure its employees are well-versed in this emerging technology.

Raul excitedly stated that they have now added a new employee training course - "Digital Currency 101".

“All new employees are required to take a course called ‘Crypto 101.’ I’m sure no other bank has done this.”

Recently, major financial institutions have formed alliances to jointly explore the distributed ledger applications of blockchain technology. Does LHV Bank intend to join or form an alliance?

Raul said LHV Bank has no plans in this regard.

I thought that by building my own proof of concept independently, I would be able to better understand the potential of this technology.

However, Raul added that LHV Bank does not "rule out" the possibility of joining an alliance in the future, but did not disclose which alliance LHV Bank would consider joining.

About Bitcoin

Lauer said he first learned about Bitcoin in 2010, but it wasn't until last year that he began to see its potential.

Lauer said he understood why Internet companies such as Netflix would publicly express support for Bitcoin. 'Because the payment systems we use today are simply not built for online business.'

"Providing a single payment method for all countries in the world is the challenge for a business like Skype, but today there is no single payment method that can do this.

“So can Bitcoin or other digital currencies solve this problem? I think it’s possible.”

Lauer said the bank's existing infrastructure is "old."

This was also pointed out in a recent report released by Aite Group.

Before joining LHV Bank to develop digital currency products, Raul worked at Skype as a manager responsible for settlement and payment operations.

Expanding the trial

Laur did not reveal whether LHV Bank has developed other new POCs, but he did say that the Cuber wallet app developed by LHV Bank in partnership with bitcoin company ChromaWay was “very successful.”

Lauer said LHV is preparing to use the technology for commercial purposes, a process that may include expanding its API as it looks to make the product more widely available.

Currently, our wallet product is only available to our own customers, and this year we plan to expand our customer and product range.

Lauer said that the Cuber wallet is just the foundation, but hinted at broader goals in the future:

"In short, the main goal for 2016 is to solve real-life problems."

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/lhv-bank-exec-we-support-bitcoins-values/
By Pete Rizzo
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/lhv-bank-bitcoin-value)