Bitsy.com, a portfolio company of Medici Ventures has launched limited beta edition of a high-tech cryptocurrency wallet service that aims to develop a simple, secure, and convenient bridge between fiat currencies and digital currencies.
The wallet’s initial beta release will support Bitcoin (BTC) transactions, with more coins to follow soon. Unlike other wallet providers which only use derivative claims on coins owned by the provider, Bitsy users hold the actual physical Bitcoins via private key ownership. They retain complete control over their funds, including the ability to transfer and spend.
Biometric security measures like fingerprint scanning and facial recognition will help protect against hacks and lost passwords. In case a wallet is lost or destroyed, Bitsy’s key recovery system will offer a unique way to recover funds, a patent-pending mechanism to regenerate private keys in dire situations.
Medici Ventures is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Overstock.com founded in 2014 to support investments in startups applying blockchain technology to industries in innovative ways. Overstock.com Inc., the parent company of Medici Ventures, has accepted Bitcoin since January 2014 and today accepts dozens of cryptocurrencies as payment. Overstock plans to use the Bitsy service to offer Bitcoins for sale on the Overstock website in the first or second quarter of 2019.
Excited about the venture, Patrick Byrne, Overstock CEO says, “This would set a new standard for cryptocurrency wallets. The freedom promised by Bitcoin is given by Bitsy to the users. The wallet has an upper edge on the backdrop of convenience that it offers.”
He further added, “Not only it has set a new standard but the integration of Bitsy will further enable Overstock to move ahead in its digital currency journey as now the company will be able to offer bitcoin for sale directly from the retail website.”
Elated with the partnership with Medici Ventures and Overstock, Bitsy CEO Ann-Marie Hopkins says, “Our vision is to make bitcoin so simple that anyone can use it. This partnership will further help us to broaden the adoption of the digital currency.”
Byrne has personally evangelized Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for many years, and Overstock was one of the first big businesses to not only accept Bitcoin but also invest in blockchain companies. Byrne is unfazed by the long bear market and reiterated Overstock’s commitment to blockchain technology. As cryptocurrency becomes more popular and mainstream, the competition among exchanges and wallets thrives with innovative newcomers.
