Coinsetter, a bitcoin exchange headquartered in New York, bought one of the most profitable Canadian exchanges dubbed CAVIRTEX and reopened it for trading.
On Wednesday, Coinsetter, a Wall Street-based bitcoin exchange announced its plans to expand the company’s global footprint starting with the acquisition of Canadian Virtual Exchange, known as CAVIRTEX, a bitcoin trading platform which was operating since 2011; in March the company stopped functioning because of security issues involving password hashes.
Yesterday, the site reopened for trading under the same name. “Both exchanges will remain open for business in their own names, sharing technology, capital, management and banking access to maximize the value to traders. Previous account holders at CAVIRTEX and Coinsetter will continue to be able to use their existing login credentials at the same websites to access their accounts,” claims Coinsetter.
Jaron Lukasiewicz, Coinsetter chief executive, commented on the lack of good options for Canadian bitcoin traders: “Every single exchange that currently exists in Canada is very poor quality, it’s almost unbelievable.
So our goal is really to come into the market with our great trading technology, and I am confident that almost every Canadian customer will come back to us. There’s no reason they wouldn’t try us out. The other options in that market are very bad,” reports Fortune.
“The acquisition marks the first major consolidation in the bitcoin exchange market, and represents one of the largest M&A deals to take place in the burgeoning digital currency space,” states the company’s press release. The deal was valued at $2 million (1.35 million pounds), according to Reuters.
The acquisition occured through a negotiated agreement with CAVIRTEX voting shareholders. Jaron Lukasiewicz became CEO of CAVIRTEX and Marshall Swatt was named CTO of CAVIRTEX. Jaron Lukasiewicz commented:
“Coinsetter is proud to make Canadian bitcoiners a core focus of our company through CAVIRTEX, the most profitable and longest-running bitcoin exchange in Canada. Together we are making history, combining talent and resources to give clients an unparalleled BTC-CAD trading experience with a wide range of domestic bank transfer options, including a full banking relationship in Canada.”
Marshall Swatt also added, “Traders have trusted Coinsetter since 2012 to provide the best combination of high speed trading technology, ironclad security and liquid markets. As we integrate Coinsetter’s CSX exchange technology into CAVIRTEX in the coming weeks, we will create an unparalleled Canadian bitcoin exchange with low latency trade execution, margin trading and growing interaction with customers through our Toronto office.”
CEO of Coinsetter and CAVIRTEX even foresees big growth in bitcoin ATMs. As far as Coinsetter teamed up with many bitcoin ATM operators, Lukasiewicz states, “We hope to dominate that space completely. Ultimately it’s up the operator to decide which exchange they use as their back-end liquidity stores.”
Eugenia graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University with a degree in Intercultural Communication, Translation/Interpretation (Italian, English). Currently she works as a business analyst, freelance interpreter and tutor. She’s fond of numismatics, photos, good books and sports, adores travelling and cooking.
