Bitcoin prepaid debit card operator Monaco’s token is plunging Wednesday after a code rewrite removed a key aspect from its roadmap.
At the same time it announced Visa as card issuing partner for its prepaid rollout, Monaco said its asset smart contract scheme would no longer feature in its future.
Holders of its MCO token, which launched via a 70,000 ETH ($2.1 mln) crowdsale earlier this year, reacted sharply. As of press time, its value was down over 37 percent in 24 hours.
In an explanatory video, CEO Kris Marszalek said that “legal” and “commercial” concerns had led to the decision.
“This decision is great for the long-term protection of value for all token holders,” he said in the company’s defence.
“We only wish we could have done this faster.”
Monaco had touted the asset smart contract as a key value feature to the same would-be token holders in the run-up to its ICO in May.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, community members reacted with mixed feelings as MCO continued declining from $10.50 Oct. 31 to $6 Wednesday. It had previously reached highs of $25.
"We believe that the Monaco card program lays solid foundation for Monaco's growth, and we're grateful to all partners for their support,” Marszalek meanwhile continued in a press release about the Visa reveal.
He added the debut was nonetheless “an important step towards Monaco's vision to introduce cryptocurrency to the mass market.”