In light of thetumultuous time Bitcoin in Canada has faced recently, a home-grown exchange istaking levels of consumer safety and functionality to unexplored heights.
Vault of Satoshi madeheadlines earlier when it became the first exchange to implementProof-of-Solvency, a facility allowing customers to validate both their balanceand that of the exchange themselves.
Now, Director ofMarking Adam Cochran has announced a slew of upgrades with the aim of improvingcustomer experience while maintaining the trustworthiness Vault of Satoshihopes to engender in the long term.
Spotlight integration
First of these isautomated deposits, which will allow customers to withdraw and deposit fundswithout 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 wefound a safe, integrated and reliable method for this.”
Following on from thisis the introduction of Instant Interac Deposits, a funding system supported by Canada’slargest banks to allow customers for a fee of CAD$1.50 to deposit fundsdirectly to their accounts without requiring a payment merchant. “There are some limits on this,” Cochranadds, “but this is a nice, cheap way toget everything going.”
Interac Network willalso play a major part in the rollout of VoS’ new debit and credit cards, whichwill allow balances to be sold for fiatand used at MasterCard outlets, ATMs and online, subject to certain feesimposed by banks and Interac itself. This represents a major convenience forthose who do not have access to regular credit cards and require the securityof a prepaid option, or “just want tolive off Bitcoin,” as Cochran explains.
A major development interms of stability, though, is the introduction of liquidity partners, whichVoS will use to improve availability of coins following customer feedback thatliquidity was too low.
In doing so, VoSbecomes 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-cointrading fee currently charged.
“Leading the charge!”
The news has created atangible sense of optimism about the Canadian Bitcoin space. “Not only is Canada proving to be a world leader in Bitcoin friendlyregulation, 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, Canadianinnovation is nothing new, with Vancouver-based Newnote Financial being thefirst 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 isclear that the surge of Bitcoin propagation is set to continue.
More information onthe updates can be found here, with more to follow.