According to BitcoinRichList.com there are over $750 million worth of bitcoin sitting idle. Magnr, a company dedicated to providing Cryptocurrency Financial Services, is trying to change this by allowing the first-ever blockchain-based “savings accounts.”
Magnr currently operates across two verticals: trading and saving.
“Magnr allows users to independently verify the safety of their deposit on the blockchain's public ledger,” says CEO Joe Lee. “Additionally, the interest payout is calculated from blockchain data. This lets users verify they are being paid the correct amounts. This is the first time that savings accounts have received a fintech makeover.
”Magnr was created from the founding team of BTC.sx. It is a new, rebranded version of the BTC.sx trading platform. BTC.sx Bitcoin Trading Platform has brokered more than 60,000 trades since the introduction of its leveraged trading service in 2013.
Magnr generates interest from traders, which is partly paid out as interest to savers.
“One of blockchain's greatest innovations is its immutable ledger,” says Lee. “When developing our interest-bearing product, we asked ourselves on a technical level how we could rely on the blockchain as an external database as much as possible. To calculate interest payable, we take the timestamp from each client deposit directly off the blockchain. At the end of each month, this allows us to pro-rata interest calculations to whole 24-hour periods on the realtime transaction record that is the blockchain.
”The Magnr platform doesn’t require a settlement period or a wait time for them to receive funds as payments to client accounts can happen in real-time. This also allows for the saver to check the on public blockchain for payments made to his or her Magnr account.
The Magnr team is founded by investment banking veterans. Joe Lee, formerly of Barclays Bank and Macquarie Group, first discovered Bitcoin in 2011. Joe began trading bitcoin and turned $100 into $200,000. This profit was then used alongside seed-funding to start BTC.sx. Colin Kwan, COO, worked at the senior management level at UBS and Deutsche Bank. He ensures the company's products have institutional-grade quality and compliance.
“Our team is currently focused on product refinements and back-office operations,” says Lee. “Experience from the banks and investment banks we used to work with has taught us the value of building out a solid back-office operation as a matter of importance. We find that client trust starts with prioritization of the fiduciary responsibility we have when handling our client bitcoins. As we seek to engage with institutions and regulators worldwide to push the adoption of digital currencies, a well-managed operation speaks loudly for itself. This shows proof that business can be built in a trustworthy way using blockchain as its core rails.”
"Fintech startups have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revolutionize banking," Lee said. "We are very excited to be pioneering digital currency savings accounts. This is transparency in modern finance, redefined.”