Credit card support will see an initial roll-out to Bittrex Global users in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The exchange intends to launch credit card support for all international users in the future.
Bittrex global has announced the introduction of new features on its platform, including credit card support, a referral program, and upgrades to its mobile app.
Users of Bittrex Global’s mobile app will soon be able to place conditional trade orders, such as stop-limit orders for risk management.
Bittrex Global to support conditional orders on mobile app
Despite revealing a forthcoming referral program that will share trading fees, the program’s commission price structure has not been disclosed.
Stephen Stonber, Bittrex Global’s COO, indicated that exchange plans to launch additional new features in coming months:
“We are continually working on ways to provide a better experience for users. An enhanced mobile trading experience is one of our top priorities and creating this new credit card gateway is an important way of lowering the barriers to digital asset trading for new and existing customers alike. These features are the first of many we have planned that will underline Bittrex Global’s ambition to provide the best and most secure platform for digital trading.”
Bittrex partner Biteeu launches Australian exchange
On March 5, Biteeu, an Estonia-based cryptocurrency powered by Bittrex’s trade engine, announced the launch of an exchange in Australia.
Biteeu is now registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) as a digital currency exchange provider, and offers exposure to more than 70 cryptocurrencies to the Australian market.
Biteeu supports cryptocurrencies purchases with Australian dollars via debit card or wire transfer.
Bittrex sees dwindling market share
Despite recent efforts to attract traders with reduced trading fees, Bittrex’s share of cryptocurrency trading volume has consistently declined since the 2017 all-time high bull run.
As one of the leading platforms supporting a wide selection of altcoins, Bittrex briefly attracted cryptocurrency inflows representing 40% of the total market, according to CryptoQuant data.
As of February 2020, Bittrex’s crypto inflows represent less than 10%, with the exchange’s BTC inflows having fallen from a momentary all-time high of 88% to roughly 2%.
At the time of writing, Bittrex has a 24-hour volume of $45.6 million, ranking it as the 90th-largest crypto exchange by trade activity.
Brazilian Central Bank Promises Instant Payment Platform to Compete With Crypto
The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) has announced a plan to launch a new near-instant payment system during November.
The platform, called the Brazilian Instant Payment Scheme (PIX), will facilitate peer-to-peer and business-to-business transactions in 10 seconds or less via mobile phone, internet banking, or select ATMs.
According to a press release published Feb. 20, It is mandatory for all financial and payment institutions licenced by the BCB to provide their 500,000 active customer accounts with the functionalities required to facilitate PIX transfers.
The release states that transactions will be executed by using a QR Code, or by entering identifying information such as cell phone number, email or taxpayer identification number.
PIX designed in response to cryptocurrencies
According to local media outlet Livecoin, BCB President Roberto Campos explicitly stated that the platform is intended to compete against distributed ledger-based payment systems while speaking via video-conference at a launch event in São Paulo:
“Pix came from a need for people to have a payment instrument that is both cheap, fast, transparent and secure, If we think about what has happened in terms of the creation of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and other encrypted assets, it comes from the need to have an instrument with such characteristics.»
Campos described the PIX platform as a top priority for the central bank during 2020. He added that PIX will be more efficient and “help to remove from people this need to have physical money, as this generates a great cost for society.»
PIX to be used for tax payments
The BCB’s website states that the bank and the National Treasury Secretariat signed an agreement earlier this month that will see Brazilian citizens able to pay federal taxes using PIX from November 2020.
The release adds that the government intends to issue payments such as income tax refunds, social benefits and grants using the platform in future.
João Manoel Pinho de Mello, the director of the Central Bank of Brazil’s Financial System and Resolution Organization, predicted that PIX will comprise the catalyst for a financial revolution within the country, stating: “Instant payments will bring a major revolution in Brazil along with the other measures that the BC has been taking, open banking, for example.”
