Start-Up Backed by Uber Co-Founder to Launch Fee-Free Crypto Trading

Voyager, a startup backed by Uber co-founder, Oscar Salazar, has announced that it will launch a commission-free cryptocurrency trading platform. It is intended to function as an aggregation engine for cryptocurrency prices across more than a dozen trading venues. 

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Startup Founded by Uber Alumni to Host Fee-Free Crypto Trading

Voyager has revealed that it intends to offer fee-free trading for pairings of at least fifteen different cryptocurrencies on the new platform, including BTC and ETH.

The platform has been described as intending to “function as a sort of aggregation engine for cryptocurrency prices across more than a dozen trading venues, allowing customers to buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital assets at the best value available among them.”

Voyager Aims to Compete with Robinhood

Voyager seeks to compete directly with Robinhood – a popular stock trading app that hosts commission-free trading for BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, and DOGE pairings.

Voyager will simultaneously offer the prices available on ten virtual currency exchanges and three additional market makers, with the company hoping to entice liquidity by offering better prices to traders than any sole exchange.

Stephen Ehrlich, the CEO and co-founder of Voyager and the former CEO and founder of Lightspeed Financial, stated: “We saw an opportunity to build a dynamic smart order router that can take advantage of the marketplace and also offer customers no commissions.”

According to Mr. Ehrlich, Voyager will generate revenue “by beating the average price of the coins at the point in time we execute the trade.” Mr. Ehrlich added that the company has already raised “significant capital” from the friends and family of the company’s co-founders. Oscar Salazar, the founding architect and chief technology officer of Uber, is also a co-founder of Voyager, alongside, early Uber investor, Philip Eytan.

Voyager Licensed in Several U.S. States

Voyager is presently entering beta testing, with the company anticipating that it will release a mobile trading app before November of this year. Currently, the platform is licensed in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Montana, with the company hoping to eventually service at least forty U.S. states. The company has also indicated that it intends to offer exclusive services for institutional investors.

Mr. Ehrlich concluded that he “do[es]n’t think crypto has been adopted yet by the masses in the United States,” adding “ I believe the market space itself is extremely large…We think the opportunity for both retail and institutional is vast, and we want to be part of that, and help the industry grow, and be good citizens to the industry, and help people get more knowledgeable in crypto assets.”

Do you think that commission-free and decentralized exchanges will undermine the dominance of conventional virtual currency exchanges? Join the discussion in the comments section below!

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