On August 8, 2018, ShapeShiftAG, the parent company of ShapeShift.io, one of the world's largest decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, announced its acquisition of Bitfract, a blockchain software startup based in Austin, Texas.
Bitfract’s crypto trading tool allows users to swap bitcoin for a basket of cryptocurrencies within a single transaction.
Speaking to Bitcoin Magazine, ShapeShift founder and CEO Erik Voorhees revealed that this sort of multi-crypto trading solution has been a long-term target of ShapeShift's internal engineering team. One thing that stood out about Bitfract for Voorhees was the “creativity and drive of the team.”
“They used our API brilliantly, and taking steps toward acquiring the company seemed like the natural course for us to take,” Voorhees added.
For his part, Bitfract CEO and co-founder Willy Ogorzaly stated:
“ShapeShift has always aligned most closely with our mission and values. When Erik asked if we wanted to join ShapeShift, the answer was immediately yes.”
Ogorzaly said they welcomed the idea of being acquired as his team had become “incredibly familiar with ShapeShift’s API” and how to leverage it as a “tool for innovation.”
Using Bitfract's tool, users will able to diversify their crypto asset portfolios without exposing themselves to the risk factors of multiple transactions including security risks, time losses and extra transaction fees. The tool also makes it extremely easy to adopt investment positions in a wide variety of crypto assets.
It allows users the ability to choose the specific assets they want and the relevant percentage for each asset. Users send bitcoin to the destination wallet address, and their requested crypto assets are then delivered to them in a simple, seamless process.