Cointelegraph spoke with the CEO of Coinsetter and CAVirtex, Jaron Lukasiewicz, about their new margin trading program, their plans following the purchase of Canada’s largest crypto exchange, and which global city is the real Bitcoin capital.
“[Greece showed] there is overwhelmingly important value in financial systems that are not controlled by governments.”
- Jaron Lukasiewicz
Cointelegraph: Since we last spoke, you said that “New York is the place to be for Bitcoin.” Many would argue that London has now become the new hotspot for Bitcoin and fintech. Has it replaced NYC?
Jaron Lukasiewicz: Coinsetter is currently applying for the BitLicense so that we can continue to do business in New York State. While the regulatory environment might not be ideal, if you look at where most US-based bitcoin exchanges are located, they're in New York City.
“The largest and most passionate Bitcoin community I’ve seen is actually in Toronto.”
Most companies with a bitcoin trading focus also fall into the NYC category. For companies working on blockchain applications that do not necessarily deal with the bitcoin markets, San Francisco might be a better place to be given the easier access to VC capital. The largest and most passionate Bitcoin community I’ve seen is actually in Toronto.
CT: Can you let us know more about Coinsetter’s margin trading program? How will 5x leverage benefit traders?
JL: Coinsetter’s new margin trading program allows traders of all types to execute larger bitcoin trades through access to additional trading funds. All Coinsetter users now have the ability to add margin credits to better take advantage of market movements.
Coinsetter makes different levels of leverage available for different sets of users. We've created an offering that helps smaller active traders who want to trade small amounts with more leverage, while also providing larger, more institutional accounts with access to leverage at more balanced levels.
CT: You launched Bitbroker back in June. How will it help forex brokers?
JL: Until Bitbroker was released, Forex brokers had no easy way to offer bitcoin trading to their customers. Previously, in order to offer bitcoin trading, a forex broker would have to gain a difficult-to-attain understanding of the industry, learning all the properties of various bitcoin exchanges while relying on unusable APIs and high-risk counterparties.
Through our partnership with Shift Forex, Coinsetter is able to bring a truly plug-and-play solution to forex brokers enabling them to start offering bitcoin trading to their users easily.
CT: Back in January at the North American Bitcoin Conference you said that competing with credit cards isn’t Bitcoin’s biggest opportunity. What do you see as the biggest opportunity for Bitcoin or does it depend on specific geographical location?
JL: Looking towards the future, I see many valuable paths for Bitcoin. The bitcoin currency itself seems to be most useful for remittances right now, and we’re seeing a number of remittance companies emerge with products that offer global money transfer at a far lower cost.
The second path that we are seeing is on blockchain and public transparency-type applications. People and companies that focus on these applications are building products that appeal to very large institutions as a way to streamline operations.
“Our goal is to introduce additional liquidity to the CAD bitcoin market.”
CT: Earlier this year you acquired Cavirtex, Canada’s largest Bitcoin exchange. What are your plans for the business?
JL: Cavirtex, and the Canadian bitcoin market in general, is very important to Coinsetter. Our goal is to introduce additional liquidity to the CAD bitcoin market, as well as to provide an exchange with reliable banking that scales with the market. As we integrate Coinsetter’s technology going forward, we are working to provide the Canadian market with a truly world-class exchange.
CT: What is your opinion on the return of volatility to the Bitcoin price in light of recent events in Greece and China? Why do you think the price reacted the way it did?
JL: We have seen a substantial pickup in bitcoin market activity from the events taking place in Greece. These events serve as a reminder that there is overwhelmingly important value in financial systems that are not controlled by governments.