Independent Reserve – one of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore’s largest crypto exchanges – has today announced the launch of its Bitcoin.com.au platform.

The latter is a reboot of an existing exchange, which Independent Reserve aims to make the easiest way for Australians to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptos.

Independent Reserve (IR) boss Adrian Przelozny spoke to Coinhead earlier this week and told us that his firm had recently bought Bitcoin.com.au to extend IR’s offering in the marketplace.

“We’ve acquired the Bitcoin.com.au URL and brand, as well as potentially gaining a fairly large existing customer base – people who’ve used it over the past eight years,” said Przelozny.

That potential customer base totals around 100,000 users who were signed up to use the old platform run by a Melbourne-based crypto firm called Banxa.

Przelozny explained that the strategy for IR from here will be to pitch it as a platform that targets sophisticated, more experienced, crypto investors “who know how exchanges typically operate and are familiar with more advanced concepts – for example understanding what an order book is”.

Bitcoin.com.au’s mission, meanwhile, is to be the “easiest on-ramp and off-ramp for crypto in Australia”.

 

More than Bitcoin

So, despite its name, the newly rebooted platform is not just about Bitcoin trading, then?

“No,” replied Przelozny. “Although I personally love and favour Bitcoin as the leading crypto for lots of reasons, we will offer other assets as well, because that’s what people clearly want.

“The real aim with Bitcoin.com.au is to keep things really simple, cut through the noise and just make the act of buying and selling Bitcoin and other cryptos extremely approachable.

“The cryptocurrency and blockchain space has become increasingly complex. Meanwhile, there is a very large portion of Aussie investors who want to get into crypto but consider it too difficult. And that’s why we’ve launched  it.

“In our latest IRCI [Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index] report, 22% of Australians said they didn’t invest in crypto because they found it too difficult or confusing. Bitcoin.com.au is the solution for those Aussies,” the exchange boss added.

“Security is still at the forefront of what we do,” stressed Przelozny. “While we are making things easier, Independent Reserve has built its reputation off the back of ensuring our customers’ assets are safe. That won’t change with Bitcoin.com.au.”

 

Bitcoin.com.au at Swans games

Przelozny also noted the benefit of the clear and strong branding Bitcoin.com.au brings.

“It’s very easy to remember, so in that sense it doesn’t have the issues we’ve had with Independent Reserve, where people don’t immediately know what it is, making marketing a bit trickier.”

And for Sydney Swans or AFL fans in general, in between glossing over ad hoardings for QBE insurance and Chemist Warehouse at the Bloods’ home games, their eyes will soon enough do an initial double-take on this logo here and there:

Independent Reserve is already a major Swans sponsor, but it will now focus its branding at the SCG during Swans season on its new side-exchange entity with games and activities as well as building a strong presence across the club’s online channels.

“[Bitcoin.com.au] is going to be the brand we’ll use at the SCG for all sorts of activations, with an aim to engage retail customers, crypto beginners – people that have been perhaps too confused and afraid to enter into the cryptocurrency space,” said Przelozny.

And might the logo make its way to the Swans jersey?

“I’d love that,” replied the exchange boss, but the jersey’s pretty full up for the next three years. Once an opportunity opens up, we’ll definitely grab it.”

 

View on Bitcoin and the current state of market

Przelozny said that this move demonstrates that, even though markets are still in a macro bearish phase, with the US banking system on fire and uncertainty dominating sentiment, Independent Reserve is extremely confident in the crypto space and confident in Bitcoin.

“We’re a business that wants to be around in 100 years’ time. So this is just another way we’re able to really show the fact that we’re long-term bullish.

“And at a time when many in the market are bunkering down, we are extending our offering and delivering on our growth strategy with the launch of Bitcoin.com.au.”

So what does he think of the current set-up for Bitcoin and its positive movement amid the macro turmoil?

“Well, it’s interesting, because this is the scenario that Bitcoin was created for. It was originally created as a result of the last major banking crisis. We are seeing echoes of what happened back then.

“It’ll be interesting to see if people really do gravitate to Bitcoin as a safe haven, as a way to remove themselves from the banking system and move to a hard asset that can’t be manipulated and inflated.

“Bitcoin tends to respond very well to quantitative easing and loose monetary policy, and there is a current expectation that governments will need to print more money to avert a major banking crisis.

“The US Fed is between a rock and a hard place and I don’t envy them at all. But I’m fascinated to watch what happens next as the set-up could make it Bitcoin’s time to really shine.”

None of the contents of this article should be construed as financial advice. 

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