Brazil: Bitfy allows investors to be the true owner of their cryptocurrencies

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – As government agencies do not regulate cryptocurrencies, whether the Central Bank or the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), those who buy them via brokers need to trust the intermediation because there are no concrete guarantees that the customer will recover their assets should the company face any problems.

Bitfy, the cryptocurrency super-app that gives clients custody of their own cryptos, was created to solve this pain. With this, the investor becomes the only one with the private security keys that give access to digital currencies.

A COMPLETE WALLET

In addition to being a financial intermediation platform and payment service, Bitfy acts as a digital wallet and allows the instant purchase and sale of cryptos.

“Our differential is to develop proprietary technology, which connects us at the protocol level with the blockchain of the main currencies, making available functionalities that offer autonomy and convenience to our users,” explains Tony Marchese, CMO of Bitfy.

CRYPTO PAYMENTS

The possibility of using cryptocurrencies as a payment method when buying products and services, either via payment orders or Cielo machines, draws users’ attention. (Although the purchase is made in cryptocurrency, the merchants receive the payment in Brazilian reais).

The platform also allows purchases of gift cards with discounts at more than 70 partners, including iFood, Evino, Rappi, Outback, Netshoes, Microsoft, Hering, and McDonald’s.

Customers also can transfer amounts to friends among the main cryptocurrencies in the market (between wallets) or convert digital currencies into Brazilian reals. In this case, the transfer can be made to any bank account registered in Brazil.

STARTUP ON THE RISE

Created in December 2019 by developer Lucas Schoch, Bitfy became worth R$120 million (US$26 million) after receiving an investment worth R$13.3 million in December last year.

The contribution, from US investor Borderless Capital, with participation from Algorand, Dash Investment Foundation, and angel investors, was a significant step towards hiring blockchain technology developers and investing in user acquisition, conversion, and retention on the app.

“There is a growing number of cryptocurrency investors, but few people use the assets in their daily lives. It was thinking of expanding the offer to this public that we created the functionality to make payments with cryptocurrencies easily, securely, and with a few clicks,” says the CMO.

The executive reinforces that the security level is high. Besides an innovative proposal, Bitfy uses a technological infrastructure developed by Elytron, whose cofounder was responsible for identifying vulnerabilities in giants such as Google, Apple, NASA, and the Pentagon.

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