The London Block Exchange(LBX) is a UK-based cryptocurrency exchange built to help consumers and institutions in London and across the United Kingdom to join the digital money revolution.

The LBX is launching a Visa card, the Dragoncard, that will allow users to spend their bitcoin savings. The card, designed to overcome a key drawback of bitcoin that it is not a widely accepted form of payment, will convert holdings in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pounds and allow users to conduct day-to-day transactions as though with a credit/debit card.

When a user makes a transaction using the Dragoncard, LBX pays the merchant in pounds and withdraws cryptocurrency from the user's wallet and converts it into pounds. LBX charges a 0.5% fee for processing the payment. While there have been other companies to launch bitcoin cards, LBX is the first to introduce a card for all major cryptocurrencies. The exchange has been provisionally approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK's financial regulator.

The LBX wallet app provides real-time market data and allows users to exchange between cryptocurrencies. LBX has received £2m in funding for the project.

Benjamin Dives, LBX's chief executive, spoke of the project, “Despite being the financial capital of the world, London is a difficult place for investors to enter and trade in the cryptocurrency market.

“We’ll bring it into the mainstream by removing the barriers to access, and by helping people understand and have confidence in what we believe is the future of money.”

While Visa has raised concerns regarding cryptocurrencies stating that regulations were unclear in the EU, LBX said it did not see such issues because conversions are only done in pounds. LBX launches in December 2017.

About The London Block Exchange Team

Benjamin Dives – Founder and CEO

Jono Mcleod – Co-founder and Head of operations

Adam Bryant – Executive Chairman

Matt Belton – Business development and Operations Manager

Michail Ballis – Head of Marketing operations

London Block Exchange Conclusion

If the project does go ahead without any regulatory intervention, this is a fantastic development for cryptocurrency users in UK. Being able to spend cryptocurrencies for everyday expenses is the ultimate holy grail for those who believe in cryptocurrency.