UK based spread betting company Spreadex have become the first company to offer its investors and customers the power to trade using the Bitcoin online currency.
Speadex are one of the newer spread betting companies having only been formed in 1999, but already they are one of the leaders in their chosen field. In the last few years they have also acquired the sports betting leg of IG Index and the non-equities business of Cantor Index, both of whom are rivals in the spread betting industry. They also offer a wide range of online casino games, sports betting and mobile betting facilities too, on top of their well known financial spread betting. The first trade of the Bitcoin currency was completed on Monday with a financial market being offered on the price movements of the digital currency according to the MtGox Exchange.
So what is Bitcoin we hear you ask? Basically the Bitcoin currency is a decentralised digital currency, and it is used as a replacement for government-backed currencies, with it's main users being businesses and internet users.
Andy Mackenzie from Spreadex is excited by the possibilities of the new currency and he had this to say. He said “We have already seen demand from our client base to be able to gain leveraged access to trade Bitcoin price movements, which is why we have launched this new market. No one is truly sure how important this form of currency could become.”
He went on to describe the Bitcoin currency by adding, “The currency’s appeal is that there are a fixed number of ‘coins’, around 21 million in total, that they are entirely unique, that there exists no central bank to control supply and that governments cannot apply tax. In essence, the currency is viewed as digital gold and as a potential inflation/devaluation hedge.”
Interesting and exciting times ahead for all concerned at Spreadex and only time will tell if the trading of the Bitcoin currency will become a success or not, but the early signs seem good.
