LeapRate has learned that new FX / Bitcoin startup Lykke is launching, with a goal of changing the way FX and other financial asset classes are traded and settled. Lykke describes itself as a movement to build a global marketplace for all assets and instruments. The Lykke marketplace will use the distributed ledger technology pioneered by Bitcoin to offer immediate settlement and direct ownership.
The ultimate goal of Lykke is to enable every person on the world to have market access and be able to issue his currencies.
While Lykke’s goals sound somewhat lofty (and possibly far-fetched), the company certainly has a solid and respected founder in the person of Richard Olsen (pictured at right). Those in the Retail Forex world will recognize Richard as one of the co-founders and former Chairman of OANDA.
Lykke plans to use the technology as a global notary service to record and settle any type of transaction. Lykke plans to build one global marketplace, where any asset from around the world can be traded and exchanged for any other asset at a fair market price.
Initially, Lykke will focus on foreign exchange and plans to later expand to money market instruments, bonds, equities, etc. Lykke will earn Revenue from microscopic transaction fees on the volume traded on its exchange. The software is open source.
Lykke is Swiss registered company that is crowd based with people from around the world that contribute,
To kick off, Lykke is holding a global competition for the design of the architecture of the Lykke marketplace. Prize money offerred are Lykke coins – 16 prizes of 500,000 Lykke coins (or USD $2,000) for winners of the first stage, 4 prizes of 1 million Lykke coins (or $4,000) for winners of the second stage, and in the final stage there is a prize of 2 million Lykke coins or $8,000 to the winner of the competition. The winner will also have the opportunity to lead the software implementation of the marketplace. Recipients of the prizes can choose to receive Lykke coins or cash.
The Lykke competition will run from October 8 to December 14.
Lykke founder Richard Olsen describes Lykke in the following video: