Proudly Canadian Crypto Exchange Wants To Bring Cryptocurrency To The Masses

Toronto, Canada, 2022-Jan-25 — /EPR Network/ — Hubkoin isn’t likely to become the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. It isn’t even likely to become the biggest in Canada. That’s by design.

“There are a lot of big players in the market,” says Robert Watterson, managing director of Hubkoin, a new cryptocurrency exchange based out of Mississauga, Ontario. “We don’t want to be one of the big, big players. We want to be one of the helpful players.

“We’re not greed oriented, we’re customer oriented. You can only be one or the other, but you can’t be both.”

Hubkoin’s raison d’etre? To help potential investors learn about the often complicated world of cryptocurrency in a safe and secure environment that offers a low barrier for entry.

“We want to teach people how to invest properly…(and) mitigate their risks,” says Watterson.

Hubkoin’s fees are also the lowest you’ll find — several types of transactions are offered for free and exchange rates are the lowest around.

“We’re not going to drain every cent out of every transaction. We’re going to use the lowest fees that we can use to survive,” says Watterson. “We want to get Ma and Pa in this and not price them out.”

Choose a Canadian crypto exchange

There are so many things to take into consideration when choosing a Canadian Crypto Exchange: fees, security, reliability, ease of use. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly as your money — and possibly thousands if not millions of dollars of it — could be at stake.

One thing that isn’t always a consideration for new crypto investors? Licensing and the physical location of exchanges. This oversight could lead to big issues down the road, says Watterson.

If you are buying from an exchange in Canada and it’s not licensed in Canada, it could disappear along with your money, he warns.

“A non-licensed entity that is being kicked out of the country for non compliance…It’s not in their financial best interest to prioritize their Canadian clients during their exit,” says Watterson, also a forensic accountant. “Their financial interests would be to just simply keep your money and go.”

Over the years there have been many such cases. One shining example is the case of QuadrigaCX, one of the world’s first-ever crypto exchanges based in Canada, which took millions of dollars from customers but never actually invested any of the funds entrusted to it. The company eventually went bankrupt after the CEO and founder allegedly died. Though the company owed 76,000 clients more than $215 million, the company’s bankruptcy trustee was only able to recover $46 million in assets to pay out to clients.

Around the world, more than 2,000 other exchanges have also disappeared under similar circumstances.

“To me, you want to be with a Canadian controlled (exchange),” says Watterson. “You want to know the company is here for the long term.”

Hubkoin’s parent firm, Watterson Financial Solutions, has been in business for 39 years, working in taxation, consulting, investing and insurance — and is licensed in those areas.

“The government is very much aware of us,” says Watterson. “We couldn’t make Hubkoin disappear if we tried.”

Though investors are making lots of money in the world of crypto coin, there simply aren’t enough fair and reputable crypto exchanges in the world.

Though there are tens of thousands of electronic brokers for traditional stock trading, there are just 400 cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide — and only nine based out of Canada.

“If the entire world decided they wanted to get involved with crypto…exchanges could service about one percent of the world’s population that have access to computers and internet,” says Watterson.

Digital currency trading platforms need top security

Crypto heists are on the rise. Five of the 10 largest crypto attacks of all time happened in 2021. Billions of dollars have been stolen.

Security should be a top concern for virtual currency investors, says Watterson.

This is why Hubkoin has the “highest technology currently known to humankind,” he says. If there were to be an attack against Hubkoin, it would shut down instantly, deactivating any ability to transfer funds.

“I’m not saying that we are the only exchange that has the highest technology available, but our technology is being tested as recently as this month,” he says. “Most sites are years since they’ve had their last upgrade.”

Security issues aside, Watterson still sees digital currency trading platforms as a positive force in the world, helping to level the financial playing field in many parts of the world where dreams of amassing wealth and escaping poverty are out of reach .

In South Korea, for example, many young workers are leaving their jobs to pursue crypto day trading as a way of pursuing their dreams of homeownership.

“That is a really good example of what can happen with this type of a market,” says Watterson.

“It’s not just for the elite and that’s part of what we’re doing as well. We’re bringing Hubkoin to the masses.”

If you need further proof that Hubkoin is built differently than other crypto exchanges, you need not look further than its board of directors: Hubkoin has the most women and people of colour of any crypto exchange board.

While diversity wasn’t necessarily a top objective, it was a happy accident, says Watterson.