Australia-based Digital World Ventures exchange (DWVx) has launched a peer-to-peer Bitcoin brokerage through a partnership with the white-label currency exchange provider AlphaPoint.
The exchange, founded by Ian Davis and James Clarke, hopes to bring a trusted and personal brand, as well as provide a state-of-the-art exchange, to Australia’s Bitcoin scene.
“We’re very excited Digital World Ventures selected us as their technology partner”, said Vadim Telyatnikov, CEO of AlphaPoint. “James and Ian are well-known experts in the community. We believe they have the right technical and financial backgrounds to make DWVx a significant player in the region.”
Alphapoint has supplied the infrastructure that Bitfinex, MeXBT, FlowBTC, CoinTrader and many other exchanges run on. The software company claims to provide latest exchange technology, including multi-signature security, fast transactions and reliable uptime.
An Increasingly Crowded Market
Even with AlphaPoint’s exchange infrastructure, it might prove difficult for DWVx to stand out in the already mature Australian Bitcoin market.
Venture capital-backed Bitcoin exchanges Igot and Coinjar already have a sizeable portion of the market. And more recently, Independent Reserve entered the market with its own digital currency exchange, claiming to offer a more secure and reliable exchange.
Australia’s Bitcoin ecosystem offers a robust offering, including advanced Bitcoin services. BTC.sx offers advanced trading tools, data and numerous levels of leverage. DigitalBTC, a local Bitcoin company, is even trading on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Community With Cutting Edge Technology
DWVx co-founders Davis and Clarke have backgrounds in finance and IT support and experience working for Barclays, IBM, Nationwide and Westpac bank.
“We have been in active the local Bitcoin communities and tried many of the exchanges out,” Davis said. “Exchanges ran by financial people tend to focus on customer support, while neglecting the technology. Techie people tend to focus on technology and forget customer support; we come from both areas.”
The company hopes to stand out in the market with superb customer support and an active role in the western Australian Bitcoin community. DWVx will open an office in Perth, Australia.
“There is a large and active Bitcoin community, but all the exchanges are on the east coast of the country,” said Davis. “By really working on the customer support and experience, while also offering AlphaPoint’s technology, we think we can make a real difference in the market.”
“We are extremely excited to deliver a state-of-the-art Bitcoin exchange, capable of up to one million transactions per second, and offering leading-edge security and reliability, all while maintaining a simple and user-friendly customer interface,” added Clarke.
This personal approach is taken down even to their banking partners. DWVx’s banking partner is Westpac, the second-largest Australian bank by assets. According to Clarke, the bank “fully knows that we are a Bitcoin startup and what we do.” Davis, who previously worked for the bank and met Gail Kelly, who was CEO of Westpac at the time, said the bank was “surprisingly supportive and informed about cryptocurrency.”
Building The Brand
“As Bitcoin continues to become more mainstream in Australia, our mission is to become a trusted source of information and education, through our extensive communications and customer interactions,” said Davis. “Whilst we may be the most remote exchange in the world, we pride ourselves on our accessibility and personal approach.”
One of the main reasons the company decided to partner with AlphaPoint instead of building its own exchange is so it could focus on building its brand and customer experience. The duo plans on going to local startups and Bitcoin meetups to spread awareness and bring a face to the exchange.
They will also be putting the finishing touches on their local office, which will host regular Bitcoin presentations and even a co-working space. DWVx also has begun work on an in-person and online educational course about Bitcoin.