eToro is a social trading and multi-asset brokerage company that focuses on providing financial and copy trading services. It has registered offices in Cyprus, Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. In 2018, the company’s value was $800 million.
Digital currency is a balance or a record stored in a distributed database on the Internet, in an electronic computer database, within digital files or within a stored-value card. Examples of digital currencies include cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, central bank digital currencies and e-Cash.
A cryptocurrency exchange, or a digital currency exchange (DCE), is a business that allows customers to trade cryptocurrencies or digital currencies for other assets, such as conventional fiat money or other digital currencies. A cryptocurrency exchange can be a market maker that typically takes the bid–ask spreads as a transaction commission for is service or, as a matching platform, simply charges fees.
A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. It typically does not exist in physical form and is typically not issued by a central authority. Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems. When a cryptocurrency is minted or created prior to issuance or issued by a single issuer, it is generally considered centralized. When implemented with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database.
Coinbase is a digital currency exchange headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. They broker exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Tezos, and many others, with fiat currencies in approximately 32 countries, and bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide.
The legal status of bitcoin varies substantially from state to state and is still undefined or changing in many of them. Whereas the majority of countries do not make the usage of bitcoin itself illegal, its status as money varies, with differing regulatory implications.
Circle is a peer-to-peer payments technology company. It was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013. Circle's mobile payment platform, Circle Pay, allows users to hold, send, and receive traditional fiat currencies. In September 2015, Circle received the first BitLicense issued from the New York State Department of Financial Services. In April 2016, the British government approved the first virtual currency licensure to Circle. Circle is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Huobi is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in China, the company now has offices in Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and the United States. In August 2018 it became a publicly listed Hong Kong company.
Kraken is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2011. The exchange provides cryptocurrency to fiat trading, and provides price information to Bloomberg Terminal. As of 2020, Kraken is available to residents of 48 U.S. states and 176 countries, and lists 40 cryptocurrencies available for trade. Kraken played a role in attempting to recover funds lost by investors during the 2014-15 Mt. Gox implosion. According to CoinMarketCap, Kraken is the 4th largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini) is a digital currency exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets. It is a New York trust company that is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and was founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
Quadriga Fintech Solutions was the owner and operator of QuadrigaCX, which was believed to be Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange. In 2019 the exchange ceased operations and the company was declared bankrupt with C$215.7 million in liabilities and about C$28 million in assets.
Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc., which is headquartered in Hong Kong and registered in the British Virgin Islands. Their customers' money has been stolen or lost in several incidents, and they have been unable to secure normal banking relationships.
Abra is a financial services and technology company that operates an all-in-one, non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet and exchange. The name Abra actually stands for "A Better Remittance App" and has endeavored to become one of the most secure wallets in the cryptocurrency space. Due to its namesake and consequent motivation to build such an app, Abra has become quite popular domestically and globally, as it is available for download in over 150 different countries. The Abra app is available on both iOS and Android platforms and allows users to deposit, withdraw, exchange, and hold 4 native coins, which are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. In addition to this, Abra supports a multitude of cryptocurrency assets, allowing users to exchange and hold over 90 different cryptocurrencies including the aforementioned native coins. Abra is also at the forefront of Decentralized Finance, offering high-yield interest rates for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, USD Coin, Tether (cryptocurrency), True USD, and Paxos Standard Token.
Bitconnect was an open-source cryptocurrency that was connected with the high-yield investment program bitconnect.co. After the platform administrators closed the earning platform on January 16, 2018 and distributed users funds in BCC, confidence was lost and the value of the coin plummeted to below $1 from a previous high of nearly $500.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies. As of January 2018, Binance was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volume.
Cryptocurrency and security describes attempts to obtain digital currencies by illegal means, for instance through phishing, scamming, a supply chain attack or hacking, or the measures to prevent unauthorized cryptocurrency transactions, and storage technologies. In extreme cases even a computer which is not connected to any network can be hacked.
OKEx is a Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies. Some of exchange's core features include spot and derivative trading. It was founded in 2017.
BitMEX is a cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform. It is owned and operated by HDR Global Trading Limited, which is registered in the Seychelles and has offices worldwide.
Bithumb is a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in 2014 by Javier Sim, Bithumb Korea is the most influential digital currency exchange in the country, having 8 million registered users, 1M mobile app users and a current cumulative transaction volume has exceeded 1 trillion US dollars.
Anthony Di Iorio is a Canadian entrepreneur primarily known as a co-founder of Ethereum and an early investor in Bitcoin. Di Iorio is the founder and CEO of the blockchain company Decentral, and the associated Jaxx wallet. He also served as the first chief digital officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange. In February 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth at $750 million–$1 billion.
