In light of the tumultuous time Bitcoin in Canada has faced recently, a home-grown exchange is taking levels of consumer safety and functionality to unexplored heights.

Vault of Satoshi made headlines earlier when it became the first exchange to implement Proof-of-Solvency, a facility allowing customers to validate both their balance and that of the exchange themselves.

Now, Director of Marking Adam Cochran has announced a slew of upgrades with the aim of improving customer experience while maintaining the trustworthiness Vault of Satoshi hopes to engender in the long term.

Spotlight integration

First of these is automated deposits, which will allow customers to withdraw and deposit funds without requesting this be done via email as before. “This is something our customers have been craving for a long time,” Cochran says, “We wanted to make sure we found a safe, integrated and reliable method for this.”

Following on from this is the introduction of Instant Interac Deposits, a funding system supported by Canada’s largest banks to allow customers for a fee of CAD$1.50 to deposit funds directly to their accounts without requiring a payment merchant. “There are some limits on this,” Cochran adds, “but this is a nice, cheap way to get everything going.”

Interac Network will also play a major part in the rollout of VoS’ new debit and credit cards, which will allow balances to be sold  for fiat and used at MasterCard outlets, ATMs and online, subject to certain fees imposed by banks and Interac itself. This represents a major convenience for those who do not have access to regular credit cards and require the security of a prepaid option, or “just want to live off Bitcoin,” as Cochran explains.

A major development in terms of stability, though, is the introduction of liquidity partners, which VoS will use to improve availability of coins following customer feedback that liquidity was too low.

In doing so, VoS becomes the first major exchange to offer such backing on a coin-to-coin basis, says Cochran, who sees the feature being complementary to the 0.2% coin-to-coin trading fee currently charged.

“Leading the charge!”

The news has created a tangible sense of optimism about the Canadian Bitcoin space. “Not only is Canada proving to be a world leader in Bitcoin friendly regulation, but Vault of Satoshi is known for leading the industry in trust, security and transparency,” writes prweb, “It’s great to see Canadians leading the charge!”

Indeed, Canadian innovation is nothing new, with Vancouver-based Newnote Financial being the first Bitcoin-related firm to launch TV advertising earlier this year.

While there have been developments to contrary as the Canadian government, like others, attempts to grapple its way to an understanding of the current scenario, it is clear that the surge of Bitcoin propagation is set to continue.

More information on the updates can be found here, with more to follow.