Cryptocurrency wallet provider Blockchain.com announced on Tuesday it was to launch its own crypto exchange that it claims will be faster and more reliable than any currently on offer.
In an announcement on its blog, the company said:
We’ve now created the world’s fastest crypto exchange, clocking in at 40 microseconds per trade, capable of executing millions of orders per second.
Driven by Frustration
Blockchain.com said its decision to launch a trading venue was driven by frustration over unreliable, illiquid and unfair exchanges that encourage users to keep their cryptoassets deposited, rather than safely secured in their own private keys.
It added:
On top of all this they are overly complex: getting the full feature set often requires accounts at multiple venues – one with plenty of asset selection, one with decent fiat support, and perhaps one with leverage.
Ending the ‘Nightmare’
The company was launched in 2011 as Blockchain.info, a wallet system supporting bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ether, but also provides data, charts and statistics on the cryptoasset markets.
It said in the blog post it had been prompted to enter the exchange industry because it had enough of seeing its customers transfer their crypto from its wallets to external exchanges only to endure “nightmarish” experiences, such as support tickets ignored, funds that can’t be withdrawn, trades missed at crucial moments and hacked accounts.
We set out to build something better, a product that would not only clear up these common headaches, but one that we would be excited to use. An exchange that would redefine speed, reliability, and liquidity for each and every crypto believer around the world. Fast. Simple. Reliable.
The PIT Launch
With this in mind, the company has assembled nearly a hundred developers who are working to launch The PIT – version 1 of which it aims to launch later this week.
In an interview with The Block, Nicole Sherrod, head of trading products at Blockchain.com said that while other exchanges hosted millisecond matching engines, The PIT was aimed at hosting a microsecond one.
While the exchange sector is a crowded one with strong competition, the company believes it can scale the size of its crypto wallet business to buoy its own offering.
This will include trading in bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, litecoin, tether andpaxos standard. The exchange will support deposits, withdrawals and fiat-to-crypto trading in dollar, euro and pounds sterling.
