Blockport, an exchange based in Amsterdam, went live with its public beta this week. The platform allows European traders to buy, sell and trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and two additional cryptocu
Blockport, an exchange based in Amsterdam, went live with its public beta this week. The platform allows European traders to buy, sell and trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and two additional cryptocurrencies against the euro. Executives said Thursday the company intends to enter the United States market, where it will compete against Coinbase, the industry leader.
"Given the rapid growth of Blockport and high demand from the US market for an alternative to the largest cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, the company is planning to expand its European operations to the US," Blockport said in a statement.
Coinbase has spent six years establishing itself as one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms in the country. In recent months, however, the San Francisco exchange has drawn heavy criticism from its customer base. Mashable obtained 134 pages of complaints filed with the SEC and the California Department of Business Oversight. Users accused Coinbase of theft, of ignoring reports of missing funds, and of systematically defrauding customers.
Blockport has signed up more than half a million crypto-traders. Twenty percent of them operate from the United States.
Over the next several months, the startup will introduce USD trading pairs, social trading capabilities and additional cryptocurrencies to its platform. Sebastiaan Lichter, the founder and chief of products, explained that US traders wanted cryptocurrency exchanges but couldn't find a user-friendly option suited to beginners.
"We launched Blockport based on a vision that everyone should be able to join the new digital economy that has developed along with the emergence of cryptocurrencies. Participation should be secure and transparent," Lichter said. "Security on current trading platforms and a lack of user-friendly solutions and hands-on information are important reasons for many people not to start trading in cryptocurrencies. That's a missed opportunity."
Blockport commenced operations in 2017 with an emphasis on combining social elements with cryptocurrency trading. Traders share their strategies, and other users can follow them and replicate their trades by paying in Blockport tokens. The platform's ERC20 token, built on Ethereum, enables users to pay for additional services and access discounted trading fees.
The startup collected $10 million through a token sale earlier this year. This capital funds platform development and ecosystem creation.
More competitors are entering the US cryptocurrency exchange space. Robinhood, which offers commission-free stock and ETF trading, unveiled Robinhood Crypto. According to Business Insider, Robinhood is investigating additional cryptocurrencies and building a wallet service. BitFlyer, based in Japan, began operations in the US in late 2017 after obtaining regulatory approval to function in 42 states. Coinbase and Gemini remain the largest platforms, though new challengers are carving out market share.
