London-based Saga Monetary Technologies, creators of the fiat basket-backed SGA currency, have taken an important forward step by partnering with blockchain payments solution Carbon.

The agreement makes it easier for users to purchase SGA in their native currency, thanks to Carbon’s on-ramp Fiber which supports all MasterCard and Visa credit/debit cards.

London-based Saga Monetary Technologies, creators of the fiat basket-backed SGA currency, have taken an important forward step by partnering with blockchain payments solution Carbon. The agreement makes it easier for users to purchase SGA in their native currency, thanks to Carbon’s on-ramp Fiber which supports all MasterCard and Visa credit/debit cards.

Could Saga Represent an Investment Safe Haven?

With growing fears that the coronavirus outbreak will negatively impact the global economy, investors are being pushed towards safe haven assets like gold. Indeed, gold futures are now trading near the highest close in over six years. Saga Monetary Technologies are hoping that their stabilized currency can excel during the economic uncertainty, all the more so now it can be purchased in over 180 currencies.

SMT launched the SGA token last December, and comparisons between it and Facebook’s much-hyped Libra were obvious from the get-go. While the latter continues to be mired in a regulatory morass, the basket-pegged SGA stablecoin has marched on – and the tie-in with Carbon will see it consolidate its advantage in getting out of the gates first.

Saga: Basket-Pegged to Avoid Volatility

Two years in the making, SGA is built on the ERC20 token standard and backed 1:1 by bank deposits matched to the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights (SDR). The SDR’s basket is weighted with U.S. dollars, Chinese yuan, British pounds, Japanese yen and euro, and by pegging to it, Saga will avoid the high volatility that has characterized the wider crypto market.

Intended as a fair global currency that complies with regulatory requirements, the stablecoin’s advisory board includes lauded economists such as Nobel Prize-winner Myron Scholes and Jacob Frenkel, former Governor of the Bank of Israel and now chairman of JPMorgan Chase International. While initially pegged to the SDR, SGA will gradually move away from the model and represent its own digital currency, its value stabilized by smart contracts and governed by supply and demand.

The Proliferation of Fiat-to-Crypto Onramps

Saga’s decision to partner with Carbon to ensure a reliable fiat on-ramp reflects a wider industry trend, as platforms seek to make it easier for consumers to purchase cryptocurrency. A glut of platforms have recently integrated fiat-to-crypto on-ramps, partnering with payment processors to facilitate Visa and MasterCard payments. It is now possible to purchase cryptocurrency directly from many platforms’ mobile applications, using credit or debit card, while incurring low fees.

Such seamless onboarding processes are seen as key to promoting mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, and in this increasingly competitive space, platforms are aiming to become one-stop shops: portals where users can buy, sell, borrow, earn and trade crypto easily using web and mobile apps.

Saga’s progress will be monitored with interest by those initially intrigued by Libra’s proposition, by investors seeking safe haven assets, and by Libra powerbrokers themselves, given the similarities between the projects. Making SGA easier for users to purchase is a significant stride for the project, and a shot across the bows to Zuckerberg’s global currency project.