Montreal-based fintech firm sticks to its guns with new cryptocurrency feature
Despite a tumultuous few weeks in the market for Bitcoin, a Montreal-based fintech company is pushing ahead with its new Shakepay Change feature.
It’s an addition to Shakepay’s app and OTC service, which it said allows investors to buy and sell Bitcoin in less than 10 minutes, the firm remains optimistic about the long-term future of the cryptocurrency despite its price plummeting below $3,300 on Friday. Less than a year ago, Bitcoin was trading close to $20,000.
Shakepay Change allows Canadian to invest their spare change into Bitcoin automatically by linking to your bank account and buying Bitcoin with the change from everyday purchases, adding small amounts gradually over time.
Originally launched in 2015, Shakepay has facilitated the exchange of more than $30 million in digital currency, with over 40,000 customers served.
CEO Jean Amiouny said the Change feature is the latest part of the company’s aim to create “open access to building wealth”.
He said: “We want to keep making this easier and more frictionless for our customers, many of who buy Bitcoin week-after-week for the purpose of long-term holding.
“With Shakepay, Shakepay OTC, and now Shakepay Change, we’ve created the most frictionless ways to buy and sell Bitcoin in Canada.
“Regulatory compliance is a high priority at Shakepay for offering our services to Canadians. As this new space develops, customers are looking for financial services who take Canadian regulatory guidelines seriously. We are licensed as a money services business by FINTRAC and the AMF to operate in all Canadian provinces and territories and have partnered with a Schedule 1 bank.
“Our volume of transactions and revenues have seen double-digit growth, month-over-month. We are very excited to see that even through the Bitcoin price is down from last year’s all-time highs, customer interest in Bitcoin continues to grow.”
Friday’s loss of value was compounded by the Securities and Exchange Commission ending hopes that a Bitcoin ETF would be given approval by the end of the year.
According to Bloomberg, the SEC now plans to decide by February 27 whether to approve a proposed ETF from fintech company SolidX Partners Inc. and asset manager Van Eck Associates Corp. A key issue for the delay is thought to be a lack of mainstream institutional adoption and continuing security and regulatory concerns.
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