Bitcoin exchange Coinsetter acquires Canadian exchange Cavirtex
New York based Bitcoin exchange Coinsetter is announcing the acquisition of the Canadian Virtual Exchange, also known as
Cavirtex.
Sources involved in the transaction confirmed a target acquisition value of approximately $2 million.
The deal will give Coinsetter a presence in Canada as well as the U.S., where it currently operates. The company says the deal will also bolster its expansion into margin trading, a service that lets clients borrow money in order to purchase stock or in this case Bitcoin — an offering the company first
announced in January.
Cavirtex has been operating since 2011. The company shutdown its exchange
in March due to a major security breach. When it ceased operations, the company maintained that it was financially solvent, however the database compromise had irreparably damaged the company’s reputation making it difficult to do business.
Cavirtex was also having trouble with its Canadian banking partner,
according to an article from Coindesk. Despite these hurdles, sources close to the matter say that Coinsetter will be maintaining a relationship with Cavirtex’s unnamed banking partner going forward.
The acquisition is well timed as laws in Canada surrounding Bitcoin have recently been clarified. In January Canada passed a law that instituted reporting criteria for cryptocurrency businesses. The move discouraged some businesses, which then closed operations, but seems to invigorated others. Still, the rules will not go immediately into effect for Bitcoin businesses and there will be an opportunity for these companies to voice their opinion on how crypto-money businesses should be regulated. Either way further regulation could help pave a way for smoother relationships between Coinsetter and its (potential) banking partner(s).
To stem issues pertaining to Cavitrex earlier fraud Coinsetter will be overhauling Cavirtex’s entire infrastructure.
“We will also be adding order books in new currencies on both Cavirtex and Coinsetter. The integrated trading liquidity and security of both exchanges will provide an unmatchable global bitcoin platform to bitcoin users everywhere,” says CEO Jaron Lukasiewicz.
Source: http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/08/bitcoin-exchange-coinsetter-acquires-canadian-exchange-cavirtex/
