Nimiq releases the Oasis public beta, allows non-custodial buying of crypto using fiat

Nimiq OASIS public beta is now live and available in the Nimiq Wallet.

OASIS Introduces Programmability of Fiat and Real-World Assets

Nimiq said this is a culmination of research and refinement spanning three years. An original technology, OASIS is designed to simulate Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) behaviors enabling programmability and, therefore, enables non-custodial transfers between cryptocurrencies and real-world assets like EUR, USD, stock certificates, web domains and many more.

The technology is based on the established concept of non-custodial Atomic Swaps and Hashed Timelock Contracts (HTLCs), with Nimiq now enabling fiat-funded HTLCs for the first time ever. Atomic Swaps are designed to convey funds once certain conditions are met; if not, the transactions time out, remitting back all funds to the original sender and thus eliminating counterparty risk.

Buying, selling and also swapping cryptocurrencies is initially limited to 500$ (~400€) per transaction and 1000$ (~800€ ) per 30 days rolling window. Increases to these limits may become available going forward, but will likely require additional authentication (KYC). While supporting larger swaps is on the teams roadmap, current limits already enable most individuals to participate in the cryptoverse. Initially, only buying crypto is available. Selling will be released in the coming weeks.

Non-Custodial Buying of Bitcoin and NIM

Accordingly, users can buy NIM—the native token of Nimiq used for storing and transferring value, and Bitcoin—the world's most valuable cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of over $900 billion. 

Enabling this is their partnership with TEN31 Bank, a fully licensed German bank of which Nimiq is a shareholder. From this, the first instance of Nimiq and Bitcoin purchases supports SEPA Instant payments. 

They are also preparing for their first addition, looking to partner with a Costa Rican crypto payment processor and extend into Latin America. 

Users can directly buy BTC/NIM in under five minutes without registration while paying a 1.25 percent fee, straight from their bank accounts.

Unlike other platforms where there are disclosures about the risks of losing funds, users can effortlessly buy BTC and NIM via a non-custodial, smart contract-enabled fiat-to-crypto ramp. 

Nimiq Introduces Smart Contracts-Powered Fiat Atomic Swaps

Nimiq plays a pivotal role in user on-boarding into blockchain and crypto by acting as a payment protocol native to the web. Towards this end, they are launching a next-generation crypto on-/-off ramp for non-custodial fiat-to-crypto atomic swaps.

Their technology, designed from scratch, is inspired by Bitcoin's global and trustless nature but instead runs directly in the users browser. Users don't need to run a full node that consumes resources to buy and sell cryptocurrency.

It is the convenience of a non-custodial, efficient Bitcoin/NIM acquisition process that's urging more users to trial the Nimiq ecosystem. Without compromising on decentralization and security, transactions remain non-custodial with the user under control of funds anytime, anywhere. 

Nimiq's first implementation of fiat-to-crypto atomic swaps with OASIS can be found and used in the Nimiq Wallet, which can be created in under 30 seconds and requires no installation or registration - not even email.

The Nimiq Wallet

In crypto circles, wallets are critical. They are tools used for blockchain interaction. As such, they are designed with the end-user in mind while concurrently keeping them secure and easy to use. 

Following an update on Feb 11, the platform said they had improved their account creation process to facilitate the signup procedure for novel cryptocurrency users creating a self-custodial Nimiq Wallet. At the same time, they have integrated Moonpay, meaning users can buy Bitcoin and NIM using their credit cards.