E-Coin, the London-based Bitcoin debit card provider, has been going strong since its launch last year. It is the world's most popular bitcoin debit card accepted by more than 30 million merchants and can be used at over 25 million ATMs worldwide.

Launched by Wirex Limited, E-Coin reached the 100,000th user mark exactly a year after its launch. Recently, it announced its integration with BitGo Instant, which will enable users to send bitcoin and load their cards instantly, without having to wait for three confirmations.

Speaking to EconoTimes, Tim Frost, VP of Marketing and Business Development, E-Coin, shared his views on E-Coin’s success story, negative news on bitcoin, rising interest in blockchain technology and much more.

1. E-Coin reached the 100,000th user mark just a year after its launch. Did you expect such success when you started off?

We felt there was great opportunity in creating a bitcoin card that allowed users to spend their bitcoin anywhere. Offering a reliable product and customer service has helped us grow. Our ability to serve 130+ countries has also allowed us to grow globally where many bitcoin companies are quite limited. We now have E-Card holders in 110+ countries and growing. 

2. E-Coin is the provider of most popular bitcoin debit card on the market. Are there any plans to broaden the scope to include other cryptocurrencies and why?

We are open to including other digital currencies. Right now our focus is on other developments, but we have spoken about and would consider adding other digital currencies in the future. 

3. How do you see recent reports – proposed bitcoin ban in Russia, Mike Hearn saying that Bitcoin has failed – affecting the bitcoin industry as a whole?

Having been in bitcoin/blockchain industry for the last 2 years you grow immune of bomb dropped such as what Mike Hearn said and a bitcoin ban in Russia. Bitcoin is an experiment and I personally feel it’s been a great success so far. To think we could create a decentralized currency and there would not be commotion or constant power struggles from inside would be naive. Bitcoin is constantly expanding and becoming more user friendly. There are constantly more use cases coming out and overall it’s a major part in the disruptive fintech industry. The bitcoin blockchain is a massive network of trust, which no one could have ever seen coming before. 

4. Interest among banks in blockchain technology is mounting every day. Do you think that bitcoin fails to generate such level of interest from financial institutions and why?

Yes, now we have seen nearly every major bank globally involved in a blockchain project, either part of a larger project, or building their own internal blockchains. I personally feel bitcoin and the bank blockchain projects are 2 separate ideas and philosophies. I am myself on the fence. While I think bitcoin is an amazing thing, I see potential value in what the banks are doing as well. Blockchain technology is being used now in so many different industries. To think bitcoin is the only use case is short sighted.  

I would not expect any bank to be interested in bitcoin as a currency, as it represents almost everything they are against – a currency that they do not represent and have no control over. I would be very surprised if we ever did see value in it. 

From what I have seen, I feel the blockchain for banks hold tremendous promise. It is completely a different philosophy and technology, but what the blockchain adds is trust and efficiency. Even within a closed network in a "private blockchain" when all parties have a shared ledger that is immutable, I believe this could add needed value and trust to systems and help them become more efficient. The same way if governments move to blockchain based systems it will help fight corruption, I see nothing but positive possibilities with the technology. 

So my personal view is there is potential value in both. Time will tell what value it will bring. We are seeing new use cases daily now and I do not see it slowing down anytime soon. 

These views were my personal views, and not of our company Wirex Limited. As a company we want to see bitcoin thrive and are very neutral in the current protocol discussions.