Bitalo.com — A secure Bitcoin wallet and exchange service
BTCXE welcomes you as we start our series highlighting some of the best exchanges, services and communities in the Bitcoin space.
Today’s post feautres Finland-based Bitalo.com
Bitcoin exchange and wallet service
Bitalo.com is a Finnish Bitcoin exchange and wallet service. When we were reviewing Bitalo, it became quite clear that Bitalo place a high emphasis on providing high-quality service that is easy to use yet highly secure. What makes the Bitalo trading platform unique is not only that they provide a wallet service to their traders, but also the fact that unlike some other exchanges on the market, buyers and sellers are paired on their payment method. Whilst this means that the amount of available buyers / sellers is narrowed down, it enables highly secure and near instant transfers. This emphasis on security is underpinned by a multisignature system (turns out that Bitalo were one of the first services in the world to implement multisignature wallets), meaning that users bitcoins are safe even in the case of the website being hacked. This shows Bitalo’s determination to address their users’ security concerns.
Simple trading
When reviewing Bitalo, we got an impression that Bitalo wants to make trading of bitcoin as secure and as simple as possible for users. This is evident in the fact that they provide a wallet service, which can sometimes be a perceived barrier for new users as well as their Bitcoin Academy — a great resource for anyone looking to gain some basic understanding and knowledge into how Bitcoin and bitcoin trading works. For both seasoned and new users, we highly recommend that you visit the Bitalo Bitcoin Academy and see for yourselves.
Overall, we are really impressed with Bitalo as both an exchange as well as a Bitcoin resource.
We got in touch with Martin Albert of Bitalo.com to ask him a few questions about their service:
Introduce Bitalo. What services do you provide?
Bitalo is an integrated exchange that offers multiple services under one single user login/identity. Bitalo offers peer to peer exchange services (www.bitalo.com), offers a marketplace for products (http://market.bitalo.com) and even more functions such as a knowledge academy (http://academy.bitalo.com) and a sophisticated social prediction tool (http://predictions.bitalo.com). All our services are completely free of charge.
-What makes Bitalo unique over other exchanges ? How do you handle customer and fund security ?
Bitalo never stores unencrypted keys. We have fully implemented multi-signature wallets and your part of the key is en- and decrypted only in your browser. Even in case of a server breach your coins are still safe. Bitalo also implemented a backup transaction functionality that allows to withdraw your funds even in worst case scenarios, like a complete website shutdown or a database loss. Since we make two-factor authentication mandatory via smartphone app or via SMS, we beleive that it is not possible to make the service any more secure.
-What markets do you operate in?
As a decentralized service where people trade amongst each other in a social network environment, we do not have any limitations. Anyone that is connected to the internet can join us.
*** BTCXE note: Bitalo facilitates trade in PLN, EUR, AUD, CAD, GBP and USD
-What is the plan for Bitalo for the future?
Bitalo undergoes a major revamp and will upgrade itself to a full social network an wants to make the exchange part as small as possible and encourage as many people as possible to stay in Bitcoin.
-What is your outlook on the future of Bitcoin itself?
Bitcoin was created as independent system for the exchange of value and is therefore perfect medium of exchange for individuals on private level. The future requires services that address the full potential of bitcoin as an independent currency, without the need to exchange bitcoins for FIAT money. Bitalo will contribute to this vision by offering integrated services into their exchange.
BTCXE would like to thank Martin and Bitalo.com for their time.
We want to note that this post IS NOT a paid endorsement, but a fair reflection of the service from a 3rd person’s perspective.
To summarize, Bitalo offers a comprehensive range of services to experienced and new bitcoin users. On a scale of 1 to 10, we think Bitalo should be rated between an 8 and 10 for their utility, ease of use and emphasis on security.
BTCXE Verdict: 8.5 / 10
For more information go to:
https://www.bitalo.com
or follow them on Twitter: @BitaloAG
