CEX.io, one of the earliest and largest Bitcoin cloud mining and exchange companies, has reported passing a milestone of $40M worth of deposits from bank credit cards, also announcing the plans to add margin trading.
Bitcoin - from means of payment to widespread currency
One of the most prominent trends in the crypto industry is the effort to make the use of cryptocurrencies in our everyday lives as seamless as possible.
Bitcoin has come a long way from being a barely usable means of payment to a convenient, casual solution. However, it and other cryptocurrencies still have a long road ahead of them. One major part of that effort is the integration of cryptocurrencies with the traditional money systems.
After all, if the community wants Bitcoin and others to become as widespread and usable as the dollar or euro, the digital currencies have to become a natural part of that environment.
Cheap deposits and instant withdrawals
CEX.io was one of the first to introduce the option to deposit funds to their exchange via traditional Visa and MasterCard cards. And just now, the company has reported that the total amount of funds deposited via bank cards has reached $40M, across 600,000 users registered at the exchange.
Oleksandr Lutskevych, CEO and Co-Founder of CEX.IO, says to Cointelegraph:
“The recent Money 20/20 Europe conference held in Copenhagen proved that blockchain technology and related businesses are in the spotlight of FinTech. We operate as a broad and reliable bridge between people who are willing to buy Bitcoin and the blockchain industry. As credit cards are still the most common thing in users’ pockets, no matter what country they come from, we decided to direct our efforts to user-friendly, fast and cheap Bitcoin purchases using payment cards.”
Margin trading
Another major announcement coming from CEX.io is the addition of margin trading. One of the most essential features for professional traders, margin trading is already present on several major cryptocurrency exchanges.
Lutskevych explains:
“We are preparing to launch beta testing of Bitcoin margin trading to satisfy the needs of traders. Margin trading on CEX.IO will imply several levels of leverage, and a special algorithm for calculating risks, and thus, a user will never be in the red, even in critical situations."
A lot of major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bitfinex, Poloniex, Kraken and others, already offer the margin trading feature. However, Lutskevych says that margin trading on CEX.IO is advantageous because a user will never be in the red, even in most critical situations, thanks to a special algorithm for calculating risks. Each position is placed separately, and thus, can use different levels of leverage.
The future of Bitcoin trading
Oleksandr Lutskevych: We will continue developing solutions for our two main audiences: crypto beginners and professional traders. The first category of users will enjoy their first experience with Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, which should be even easier, faster, and more understandable.
Liquidity growth, launch of margin trading, partnership with various trade interface and API solutions will be mainly appreciated by traders. Both audiences will also experience improvement of CEX.IO verification procedures.
As our industry is incredibly fast moving in terms of development and changes, the above mentioned plans are for the very nearest time. Stay tuned for big announcements regarding long-term perspectives.
Cointelegraph: Seeing your recent performance, do you have a deliberate policy of developing competitive fiat-integrated solutions?
OL: When it comes to trading Bitcoins, be it a one-time buy, or professional trading, it is extremely important for an exchange to provide easy and fast solutions for payment options. Synergy of fast and cheap deposits via payment cards and raise of Bitcoin liquidity led to significant growth experienced by CEX.IO over the past year.
Recently we have also become the first exchange to provide instant withdrawals to Visa/MasterCard, and together with margin trading launch, we are forecasting even more rapid growth.
CT: What major trends do you expect for cryptocurrency industry in 2016-17, and how does CEX.io fit in the general picture?
OL: Cryptocurrency is a kind of a tool for developing eminent technologies within the financial field. We see ourselves as an interlink between large financial market monsters and crypto technology.