Stronghold, a US-based financial services provider, and International Business Machines (IBM) have announced a collaboration that will create a digital currency that will be paged to use the dollar; the USD fortress. According to news released on Tuesday, July 17, the new competitor will use the Stellar Lumens ecosystem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To access the new digital currency, all you need is to deposit your USD at Nevada-based bank Prime Trust, which has already partnered with Stronghold USD. The issuance of new tokens is based on the 1:1 ratio. This is the latest move to peg digital coins with assets such as gold or currencies to increase the usability of cryptocurrencies by individuals and businesses. IBM Stronghold Partnership The US-based financial services provider is poised to give the cryptocurrency market further stability by cushioning volatility. This is a big boost for the cryptocurrency market as the initiative seeks to avoid a market crash like the one experienced earlier this year. According to the company Stronghold, investors in the retail sector will have access to the tokens in a few months. If the partnership goes according to plan, Lund adds that the adoption of stablecoins and blockchain will give the consumer, retailer and supplier access to safe, convenient and secure means of payment that will offer a better value proposition than traditional plastic and fiat cards. Stronghold Role in Transactions Expectations were high that a New York-based bank, Signature, was the natural choice for the venture, only for the bank to reverse its decision and a deal was struck between IBM and Prime Trust, which is a company fully insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The goal, according to Lund, is to create a link between banking institutions and their customers to facilitate settlements using virtual currencies and traditional fiat money. Lund adds that: Simply put, Stronghold will play the role of anchor in the Stellar ecosystem by issuing digital assets that are representative of the US dollar through their partner banking institution, Prime Trust, which is FDIC compliant. This is the first step towards smooth management of digital assets. This will make it easier to move funds across borders. Tokenization of traditional money means fast transaction speeds in a frictionless environment to eradicate merchant volatility risks. It will also move traditional transactions to the level of micropayments, which will stimulate small-scale start-ups and add confidence to the institutional investor. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essaySecond According to critics, the project resembles Tether, a stablecoin, which has become controversial. However, the new project appears to have nothing to do with USD reserves. The good thing is that Prime Trust is fully vetted and covered by the FDIC and this will give the investor additional confidence and trust.