Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency remittance platform Bitspark has entered into an agreement with Vitaxel Group, positioning the company to expand operations into Malaysia. Through this arrangement, cust
Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency remittance platform Bitspark has entered into an agreement with Vitaxel Group, positioning the company to expand operations into Malaysia. Through this arrangement, customers throughout Malaysia will gain access to the startup's services via established money transfer agents and will have the option to transact through smartphone-based payment solutions.
Established in April 2014, Bitspark operates in the remittance space across the Asia-Pacific region. The company gained prominence as the operator of the region's pioneering physical location dedicated to bitcoin-enabled international money transfers in Hong Kong. The Vitaxel partnership enables the platform to add Malaysia and the Malaysian ringgit to its roster of supported destinations and currencies. Currently, the service operates across the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam with access points exceeding 100,000 locations.
Vitaxel, operating as a leading player in the multi-level marketing and digital commerce sectors, maintains a network of more than 5,000 independent agents working across 16 nations throughout Asia. The organization focuses on direct sales channels centered on travel, hospitality, and lifestyle goods and services. In a statement regarding the collaboration, Vitaxel chief executive Ryan Leong emphasized his firm's dedication to "provide the most effective technology to deliver the best value to our current and future customers." He further noted: "We believe that our collaboration with Bitspark, a 'game-changer' innovative fintech company, will move us closer to our corporate goals. Out customers and members of the public will very soon enjoy faster money transfer with greater cost savings."
The proliferation of mobile banking platforms and the widespread adoption of smartphones throughout Southeast Asia represent key drivers of this partnership's rationale. Both organizations intend to capitalize on emerging financial services opportunities extending across Malaysia and surrounding Southeast Asian economies. Bitspark's pricing structure and technology innovations position the partners to tap into additional geographic markets and attract customers previously untapped.
Malaysia's remittance flows present a compelling commercial opportunity. Data from 2014 indicated the Malaysia-Indonesia route represented Southeast Asia's preeminent remittance corridor, a distinction rooted in the substantial population of Indonesian nationals maintaining employment across the region, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.
Concurrently with the Vitaxel arrangement, Bitspark achieved selection into South Korea's K-Startup Grand Challenge program. The company advances alongside 84 competing ventures into the second phase of evaluation. This assessment phase will be held at The Startup Campus facility in Pangyo Techno Valley, where participants receive office accommodations throughout the evaluation period. Following the second-phase assessments scheduled for August 17 through August 21, the organizers will choose 40 finalists to commence the comprehensive program on September 1st.
The K-Startup Grand Challenge functions as a startup development initiative governed by four established South Korean accelerator organizations—ActnerLab, DEV Korea, Shift, and SparkLabs. The Government of the Republic of Korea administers and funds the undertaking, which seeks to invite high-potential international startups interested in accessing Korean and broader Asian markets, foster expansion of entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout Asia, and establish South Korea as a prominent startup hub regionally. The comprehensive program operates from August through November 2016, concluding with a half-year mentorship track spanning November 2016 to May 2017.
