Bitcoin is spreading far and wide, thanks in no small part to the entrepreneurs who are working hard to build the Bitcoin economy.
Companies like Coinbase, QuadrigaCX, CAVIRTEX, and many others have been helping spread merchant adoption and making it easier for those who want bitcoins to get them.
But many of these solutions are geared more toward those who are already tech-savvy. After all, it’s not always an easy, streamlined process to get involved with a Bitcoin exchange. And though merchant adoption services are great, people need a place where they can easily get their hands on Bitcoin in the first place.
It’s this problem that Toronto-based SecuraCoin wants to help solve.
SecuraCoin’s Vision
The company was founded by Ageesen Sri, who had a vision of making Bitcoin more accessible to the average person. This helped him bring on fellow partners Brian Phan and Sina Ghashghaei.
“Our vision is to encourage mainstream adoption of Bitcoin by bridging the gap between the tech world and the current world,” Phan told The CoinFront. “We’re taking a grassroots, bottom-up approach to help regular people understand Bitcoin.”
We noticed few people were integrating Bitcoin into the existing financial infrastructure,” Ghashghaei added. “We want to help people be more open to coming into the Bitcoin world.”
To that end they’ve partnered with Simply Cash, a money service company which offers payday loans, cheque cashing, prepaid Visa cards, and other money services.
Those who are interested in acquiring Bitcoin now have another five places in Toronto where they can acquire them, with a sixth on the way.
Why Simply Cash?
One of SecuraCoin’s collaborators had a relationship with Simply Cash which made it easier to work together, but Simply Cash is by no means the only company through which they want to work.
In fact, plans are already in the works to work with other money service businesses in the Toronto area. The company is building a presence on Canada’s west coast as well, where the rate of merchant adoption outpaces Toronto.
But why not just build an ATM network? After all, many companies have already started such a service in Canada, from BitSent to Bumblebee Exchange.
Related: The CoinFront’s Exclusive Video Interview With Bumblebee Exchange
“ATMs are great, and they’re the closest thing that comes to our business model”, said Phan, “but it’s easier scale with money services.”
And he’s right: an ATM requires far more infrastructure to operate efficiently, not the least of which is the process of actually getting the machines.
But with SecuraCoin’s model, they have everything they need in house.
Canadian Bitcoin Regulations
Canada is one of the many states to release a new set of regulations which specifically apply to Bitcoin related businesses. But SecuraCoin isn’t concerned.
“We’re fully compliant with FINTRAC,” Ghashghaei said. FINTRAC is the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, Canada’s financial regulatory body.
This isn’t surprising, as most Canadian Bitcoin businesses knew sooner or later they’d have to comply with FINTRAC rules, and took proactive steps to ensure their business model included it.
Even though SecuraCoin works as a third party through money services businesses, they’ve still registered themselves as a legal money services business to avoid complications.
What’s Next For SecuraCoin?
SecuraCoin isn’t happy with just sitting where they are, though. They’ve got bigger plans ahead.
They plan on developing a branded SecuraCoin wallet which, rather than competing with existing wallet software, is designed to appeal to those who are new to Bitcoin.
“But that’s not the highlight of what SecuraCoin is about”, said Phan. “We’re most excited at the prospect of bringing Bitcoin not only to the rest of Canada, but to the international market as well.”
To discover more about SecuraCoin, visit their website.
SecuraCoin Wants To Make It Easy To Get Into Bitcoin
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