The world’s second largest digital currency, LEOcoin, was launched today (25 March).

The coin can be officially traded in a few days’ time when LEOcoin’s own exchange – LEOxChange – is opened in Hong Kong (2 April). It will also be recognised by other digital currency exchanges.

Headquartered in Oxfordshire, LEOcoin’s launch follows plans announced last week by Government to regulate the digital currency sector as it continues to grow.

A new generation technology, LEOcoin is expected to have greater usability and accessibility compared to other digital currencies. In its initial phases, LEOcoin is proving attractive to emerging start-ups and enterprises – because there are no intermediaries charging commissions, which often present significant barriers to growth.

A new survey undertaken by YouGov, reveals that almost 50% of small to medium sized enterprises, who trade internationally, said transaction fees were a key concern; and 43% who transacted using debit or credit cards were also worried about the associated costs.

Despite only just being launched some 100,000 entrepreneurs are already actively using the currency in anticipation of its trading debut, making it second only to Bitcoin. It is also in the process of expanding its on and offline merchant base around the world to accept LEOcoin for goods and services. These range from vinyl records and bicycles to real estate. The peer to peer network allows users to make fast, secure and cost effective transactions.

The key features of LEOxChange are:

• Instant transactions: direct trading between LEOxChange members (which includes suppliers and retailers) means there are no intermediaries so you can set your own bid and offer prices and the volume you want to trade
• Zero Commission: no commission or transaction fees on purchases. A small commission on sales.
• Transparent and easy to use: easily understood bid and offer prices and quantities are on display. Full details of the trades completed are visible on an online ledger.
• Secure: high level encryption systems keep all transactions and records secure, keeping your trading environment and personal data safe.

LEOcoin has committed to releasing a maximum of 28,800 LEOcoins per day for a limited period of 99 years, equating to a total of 1bn LEOcoin, after which no more will be generated. This means it is designed as a deflationary currency that will increase in value as demand increases.

Dan Andersson, co-founder of LEOcoin, said: “The launch of LEOcoin today is an important chapter in the evolution of the global digital currency market and is a big statement about the future of the sector against a backcloth of scepticism to date.

“The industry needs to do much more to establish its credibility – this was borne out by the YouGov study which showed that whilst SMEs find transaction fees a concern when doing business abroad, 85% indicated they were unlikely to use a digital currency. Also it revealed that whilst awareness is very high at some 86%, only two percent already accept a digital currency.

“These numbers don’t surprise us given the negative publicity many of the digital currencies have had. We believe this has been down to such currencies being complicated, inaccessible and not user friendly.

“We aim to address these issues to give users confidence by providing a transparent and straightforward operating system. We have also focused on developing a currency that is intended to be used by everyone. Consequently we anticipate that within five years, individuals and casual users will have increased exponentially as ordinary consumers start to see the benefits of privacy and security offered by LEOcoin, whether trading at home or abroad.

“This is a very dynamic and fast moving area in financial services and we are aiming to bring digital currency into the mainstream.”