Tandem is a crypto startup recognizing that the long-term success of cryptocurrencies depends on mass adoption. And while bitcoin awareness has been increasing since 2009, the company’s team remarks in a blog post on Medium, “it is still only known, trusted, and accessible to less than 1% of the global population.”
Regulatory pressures as well as the development of third-party, intermediary and custodial services in the crypto space have been limiting the share of peer-to-peer trading.
A new contender is now challenging established P2P exchanges by offering users a mobile service that allows them to determine the level of privacy they want to maintain, and use multiple payment methods including cash.
Peer-to-Peer Exchange on the Go
The platform hopes to support the adoption of decentralized money by combining the best principles of the crypto space and traditional finance. It has recently launched an application that allows users to buy and sell coins on a peer-to-peer basis and on the go. Noting that Tandem’s goal is to encourage adoption across diverse geographies, the company’s founder Prashanth Swaminathan stated that widespread adoption is part of his company’s long-term vision.
The focus has been placed on providing traders in over 50 countries at launch – and more than 100 nations and regions in mind for the future – with a mobile product when the leading platforms in the niche, such as Localbitcoins, Paxful, and Hodlhodl are desktop-based. The app, which is already available in beta on the Apple App Store and Google Play, offers an accessible and feature-rich interface.
The Tandem P2P application enables traders to exchange traditional currency to and from cryptocurrency. They can publish ads where they offer to buy or sell crypto. The “no advertising fee” policy maintained by the platform allows you to create multiple orders. Trades are conducted directly between the users of the service while Tandem acts only as an escrow provider, not a custodian.
Tandem Supports In-Person Cash Trades
When two sides agree on a trade, they can either complete it entirely online or meet to exchange the digital coins for paper cash, something that has become harder to do via established P2P platforms. The Helsinki-based Localbitcoins, for example, removed in-person cash trades this summer. Since June, when the option was dropped, those who prefer this type of deal have been opting for alternatives such as local.Bitcoin.com, which offers people around the world the opportunity to trade bitcoin cash (BCH) locally using cash or a wide variety of online payment methods.
Tandem now puts forward a mobile alternative to the incumbents. A survey conducted by the startup showed that at least 60% of the polled P2P traders wanted to switch to a mobile application, with almost 70% of the respondents stating they were trading digital assets on a daily basis. The Tandem app starts with providing 28 fiat options to buy and sell bitcoin core (BTC) but it plans to soon expand the list of supported cryptocurrencies. As CEO Prashanth Swaminathan remarked:
Cryptocurrency is primarily known today as an investment vehicle for the rich. Over the course of time, we at Tandem would like to change this narrative to benefit other sections of the society within multiple nations.
Another feature that distinguishes the new P2P platform is that it allows you to set the level of privacy you want to have. Its KYC Level 1 requires only an email verification but it comes with a 1 BTC daily transaction limit, 0.3% maker fee and 0.6% taker fee, while those who prefer to have unlimited access and lower fees can switch to Level 2 after passing photo ID verification. These traders will also enjoy lower maker (0%) and taker (0.2%) fees. The mobile P2P exchange allows trades for as little as $10.
