The competitive landscape for commission-free cryptocurrency trading in the US is heating up with Voyager, a startup backed by an Uber co-founder, today launching a mobile application version of its Trading Platform .
Dubbed ‘Voyager App,‘ the iOS application offers customers in select states the ability to make no-fee trades on at least 18 Cryptocurrencies , including Bitcoin, Ethereum and others. It also allows instant account opening and funding in US dollar with a $10 minimum.
The licensed crypto asset brokerage has opened the registration to customers in Arizona, California, Illinois Kentucky Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, and Wisconsin. Most importantly, they will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies without incurring commission charges in a similar pattern to what stock trading app Robinhood currently offers.
Voyager’s app will trawl through multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and trading venues to find the best buy and sell price or that is closest to the price that had been offered to the user.
More competition is coming
Cryptocurrencies are normally bought and sold on exchanges where customers trade them for fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies. Clients pay fees to exchanges, and prices vary significantly between platforms.
Voyager is headed by Stephen Ehrlich, the former CEO and founder of retail brokerage Lightspeed Financial who also previously ran the professional trading arm of online stock broker E*Trade. The startup’s other co-founders include Philip Eytan, an early Uber investor, and Oscar Salazar, the former chief technology officer of the ride-hailing company.
Earlier in September, Voyager has unveiled a new service platform focused squarely on the institutional market, going up against established players like Coinbase’s GDAX and Circle’s CircleTrade.
Commenting on the news, Voyager CEO Stephen Ehrlich said: “Our vision to bring the crypto brokerage experience in line with what investors have come to expect from equity markets is now a reality. We knew there was a better way for investors to access a cost-efficient and transparent platform validated by our overwhelmingly positive feedback and demand from investors who are eager to start using our platform.”
