Swiss-based non-custodial bitcoin-exchange Pocket Bitcoin has acquired popular bitcoin wallet app Bitkipi, the company announced on Monday. According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, the acquisition will help Pocket Bitcoin solidify its focus on self-custody and provide users with a platform for buying and holding bitcoin in their own wallets. Previously, customers could set up Pocket with their own existing wallets via the company’s website and stack bitcoin using simple bank transfers.
"We believe that everyone should have access to the financial freedom that bitcoin provides, and the Bitkipi app will be instrumental in helping us achieve that goal," said David Knezić, CEO and co-founder of Pocket Bitcoin. “With this acquisition, Pocket Bitcoin now has an in-house wallet app that enables beginners to easily get started with bitcoin and self-custody,” the press release describes.
Bitkipi's founder expressed excitement to join forces with Pocket Bitcoin and bring their vision to life. "We have been working hard to create an easy-to-use, secure, and reliable bitcoin-only wallet app that can help newcomers get started with bitcoin," said the founder of Bitkipi. The app will continue to be available on both the App Store and Google Play, and current users can expect to see continued updates.
According to the press release, in almost two years, PocketBitcoin has already exchanged over ~$54 million (€50 million) in bitcoin for customers from all over Europe and paid them out on self-custodial wallets.
Anyone interested in learning more about Pocket Bitcoin's bitcoin-only platform can visit their website at pocketbitcoin.com.