Banks are dealing with disruption from FinTech startups at all angles, from investing and lending to sending money. Now, they also have to worry about startups getting ahead in the next generation of FinTech: bitcoin exchanges.
Coinsquare, one of the pitches on The Disruptors, is one such bitcoin exchange. Coinsquare allows users to go online and trade bitcoin with currencies like the Canadian dollar; users can also purchase gold and silver stored within the exchange. The platform works like a brokerage account at a bank, with access to full order books and market-to-market reporting.
“The platform is easy to use for a non-trader by using instant coin-to-coin conversion where you can instantly convert all your coins with the click of a mouse,” said Virgile Rostand, founder of Coinsquare. “With cryptocurrencies, you can send money anywhere in the world for a few cents and in a few seconds.”
Co-host Bruce Croxon said that the amount of people using this will be key to making this platform successful. “The problem with bitcoin so far, is the massive fluctuation in the value. Which I think is partly why they introduced the gold hedge,” he said. “If I’m going to exchange something, I want to know what the thing is going to be worth the day after I do it.”
Watch the whole pitch below:
BetaKit is a production partner on The Disruptors. Tune in to BNN every Thursday night at 7pm for full episodes!