Hosted wallets should take care of the problem and provide users with more flexibility.
Wealthsimple has announced it is fully embracing crypto on its platform by including capabilities like hosted wallets and several other coin options to trade.
The Canadian trading platform dipped its toes into cryptoin in 2020 by offering Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, but is now following the bigger trend in the crypto world as regulators are also making digital assets safer for users and the overall industry by establishing a framework and requirements for participants.
The robo-advisor and stockbroker announced fractional shares in 2021 and was the first commission-free trading platform in Canada. Going crypto was a bold move that paid off, but Wealthsimple still came under criticism because the private keys were held by the broker itself, thus making it impossible for users to transact outside the platform with their holdings.
The newly enhanced offering addresses those issues. Hosted wallets should take care of the problem and provide users with more flexibility.
WealthSimple chief executive Mike Katchen pointed to blockchain specialists like WonderFi Technologies, Coinbase, MicroStrategy, DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc., and Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. as a few disruptors that could soon see accelerated growth.
Backed by Canadian “Shark Tank” billionaire Kevin O’ Leary, WonderFi Technologies provides a gateway to DeFi and has recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the parent company of BitBuy, First Ledger Corp.
Ben Samaroo, Chief Executive Officer of WonderFi, said: “The integration of WonderFi and Bitbuy is a huge step forward in our mission of democratizing finance through easy and secure access to DeFi and crypto. A licensed marketplace serves as a crucial gateway to the digital asset economy, and facilitates a robust end-to-end, unified client experience. The integration of Bitbuy’s product suite will accelerate and expand the reach and scope that WonderFi can offer to the market, and will drive long-term growth and value for the Company.”
BitBuy became the first crypto platform that was regulated as a marketplace in Canada, which makes WonderFi a leader in regulated cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi).
“This is a combination of two management teams with excellent executional skills that now have the bandwidth, assets and licenses to provide an institutional grade compliant crypto platform to investors interested in exposure to centralized and decentralized financial services”, said Kevin O’Leary.
