DeVere Crypto will be available in a “matter of weeks”, the firm said. It is deVere’s second fintech offering after it launched deVere Investment in October.
The group’s founder and chief executive, Nigel Green, said: “2017 saw the true dawn of the financial technology era. Fintech is already fundamentally changing the way we access, manage and use money – and the changes are coming quicker than ever before due to improving technologies and growing demand.”
He added that “nothing has captured the imagination… quite like cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin”.
“History will teach us that 2017 was the year that digital currencies came into the mainstream.”
Green explained that the app had been built by “some of the world’s leading blockchain and other fintech experts”.
It allows users to store, transfer and exchange five major cryptocurrencies; including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Crypto concern
Despite his current enthusiasm, Green urged caution over Bitcoin just last month.
His comments, issued in a deVere press release, followed the mind-boggling run the cryptocurrency enjoyed in December, when it reached a record high of $19,183 (£13,926, €15,666).
He said: “Whilst many Bitcoin investors are popping the champagne corks at the moment, some caution needs to be exercised too. Bitcoin remains a major gamble as it is very much an ‘unchartered waters’ asset.”
“Also, an asset that goes almost vertically up should typically raise alarm bells for investors. In addition, many would argue that there’s limited underlying economic value.”
Regulatory reaction
As of Tuesday morning, when deVere announced its new app, the value of Bitcoin was at a six-week low of $11,927.
Regulators around the world have scrambled to deal with cryptocurrencies and figure out how best to either regulate or ban them.
In December, when Bitcoin was at its peak, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) addressed a “number of concerns” raised regarding cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs).
They included that, “as they are currently operating, there is substantially less investor protection than in our traditional securities markets, with correspondingly greater opportunities for fraud and manipulation”.
The SEC emphasised to investors that it has issued investor alerts, bulletins and statements on ICOs and cryptocurrency-related investments.
The US regulator has not imposed a ban, but strongly urged caution by both retail and institutional investors.
Similarly, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has warned that cryptocurrencies are generally unregulated and that investments are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. As a result, investors are unlikely to get any money back if something goes wrong.
A senior official at the People’s Bank of China recently called on a wider ban on services related to cryptocurrency trading in the country, reports Reuters. China has banned ICOs, shut down cryptocurrency trading exchanges and limited Bitcoin mining.
South Korea has also moved to potentially introduce a similar ban, despite trading in cryptocurrencies being relatively mainstream in the peninsula.
The government originally rejected suggestions from a government minister to ban Bitcoin and other such currencies. However, officials have since confirmed that a complete crackdown is possible and that it is a “live option”, reports UK newspaper the Independent.
