Bitvice wants to spread Bitcoin custodianship in South Africa

Over four million South Africans own cryptocurrency and Bitcoin investment platform Bitvice wants to increase that number dramatically. This is only one of the goals the company set out in a launch statement today with its invitation for customers to join with a minimum investment of R5 000.

Bitvice is partnering with Stitch to enable customers to start investing in Bitcoin in under two minutes

“Bitvice focuses on two things: Bitcoin and self-custody,” explains company co-founder Ricki Allardice. “Bitcoin is the best tool we have in the modern age to hedge against inflation, with an average compounded annual growth rate of 200 percent since 2011. It is also an asset that investors can hold themselves, with no need for intermediaries or third parties.”

Bitvice is focused exclusively on helping South Africans invest in Bitcoin as opposed to other, more speculative, cryptocurrencies. They offer in-depth customer support to help new to crypto investors learn to manage their personal wallets and plan for the long-term. Existing financial advisors can also leverage Bitvice on behalf of their clients.

The team launched in South Africa with fintech API Stitch as their data and payments partner. With Stitch, customers can link their bank accounts, enabling Bitvice to instantly access their account information and KYC details, as opposed to asking for manual uploads, bringing the onboarding process down below two minutes.

Platform fees are relatively low at 2.3% and trading fees can average at a high of 0.8% depending on the value. The platform does not, however, offer sell orders, encouraging users to exchange through a third party.

Bitvice joins a growing market of direct routes to Bitcoin ownership and aims to differentiate with a ‘white glove’ level of customer service that empowers crypto ownership.

Featured image by Jievani Weerasinghe/Unsplash