BitGo, a Silicon Valley based Bitcoin startup handling $1 billion of transactions per quarter, today launched zero-confirm transactions with a full financial guarantee - BitGo Instant. The service boasts a strong list of initial partners including Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Kraken, CoinHako, FoldApp, Genesis Trading, Shapeshift, Korbit, Unocoin, and SFOX.
By offering an option for firms to accept bitcoin transactions without waiting for any conformation the service will help them side-step the problem of mining backlogs creating long and unpredictable delays. A bitcoin transaction is supposed to be confirmed in under ten minutes but currently it can take from thirty minutes to a number of hours.
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Nejc Kodrič, CEO of Bitstamp, commented: “BitGo Instant is an elegant solution that lets users send bitcoin quickly and easily. Many Bitcoin businesses would love to be able to accept zero-confirm transactions, but it’s been too risky to consider until now. We’re excited to be supporting this much-needed innovation from day one.”
BitGo says its partners have agreed to give customers using a BitGo Instant transaction immediate credit, allowing them to trade almost instantly. They explain it also means traders no longer have to pre-position bitcoin funds at exchanges they intend to trade on, since funds held in any Instant-capable BitGo wallet can be moved in seconds to the Exchange with the best price.
Erik Voorhees, CEO of Shapeshift, added: "BitGo Instant is fully open-access. Anyone using a BitGo Instant-capable wallet may send BitGo Instant transactions. Any business, whether using a BitGo wallet or not, may use BitGo’s API to safely receive BitGo Instant transactions."
Back in November 2015 Kraken was reported to be the latest bitcoin exchange to employ BitGo’s multisignature bitcoin wallet solution. Today Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, commented: “We look forward to working with BitGo and BitGo Instant partners to provide our clients with instant bitcoin settlement. Cross-exchange spreads will likely come down, improving the efficiency of bitcoin markets around the globe. Moreover, merchants or merchant processors who join the network will be able to instantly convert bitcoin they collect from customers, eliminating bitcoin price risk.”
