Abra allows two people to exchange money without someone in the middle by connecting people’s Bitcoin wallets. According to the company’s CEO, consumers don’t even realize they have Bitcoin wallets; from their perspective, they have local money.
Currently the company is trying to solve the volatility problem by entering into smart contracts with people who are long on Bitcoin. In order to do that, arrangements between Bitcoin holders and consumers are facilitated and people who hold Bitcoin will make sure that the consumer continues to hold exactly USD 100 in Bitcoin, until the day she decides to use that money. Therefore, if the price of Bitcoin goes up, she gets more Bitcoin. If it goes down, she loses some. The consumer doesn’t actually see these trades unless they want to look. On the front page of their user interface, the USD 100 stays USD 100 until she spends it.
Abra never touches the Bitcoin. The company does it by paying people with large amounts of Bitcoin a very small percentage on their money for the service of adding and subtracting Bitcoin to keep the consumer whole, the CEO continues.
Abra works for the unbanked as well as the banked. The unbanked can put money into the system by visiting an Abra teller. The company will soon announce a national master teller partner in the US, according to observer.com.
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