Uber Co-Founder's Crypto Brokerage Firm Now Publicly Trading on Canadian Stock Exchange

  Voyager, a brokerage firm that focuses on finding  the best rates for bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, has  decided to go public on Toronto, Canada’s Venture Exchange (TSX-V).According  to the company’s announcement, Voyager’s shares will be publicly listed  - after the completion of a recent “reverse merger” valued at about $60  million. Launched by former Uber chief technical officer, Oscar  Salazar, the (previously) privately-held firm acquired UC Resources  Ltd., a publicly-traded mineral exploration company.The  acquisition is reportedly part of a deal that involves UC Resources  signing a share-purchase agreement proposed by Voyager’s management.UC  Resources and Voyager have now jointly established Voyager Digital  (Canada) Ltd., and this new commercial entity’s shares are currently  listed on the TSX Ventures Exchange under the ticker VYGR.V.Commenting on the merger, Stephen Ehrlich, the CEO at Voyager, remarked:

By becoming a publicly traded entity, Voyager allows the  traditional investing community to tap the public markets for exposure  to this important asset class and financial utility that is built upon  the technology of the future.   

According to Ehrlich, the Voyager’s decision to go  public could bring a “high level of trust” to the company’s clients. He  explained that the newly established business entity, Voyager Digital,  would allow traditional equities traders to indirectly gain exposure to  cryptoassets by purchasing Voyager’s shares. In an official company blog  post, Ehrlich wrote: 

This type of exposure will help more people become comfortable with  the crypto market and ultimately increase widespread adoption.   

Not Charging Usage Fees Or Commission

Established  in July 2018, Voyager aims to provide a convenient way to trade bitcoin  and other digital assets. The fintech startup offers a mobile app that  allows users to compare cryptocurrency prices  - based on quotes from several different exchanges. Because of this  feature, Voyager’s management claims its customers are able to get the  best (or cheapest) rates for cryptos. Notably, there’s no commission  charged for using Voyager’s app, as the company reportedly generates  revenue from capturing small spreads on cryptocurrency price movements.      During a recent interview with CCN, Ehrlich revealed how the Voyager app matches the best orders for its customers. He explained: 

Best execution has four components: price, quantity, the depth of  liquidity, and the reliability of the API on the exchanges. We look at  all those factors and try to get you the best execution possible. We’ve  built a really detailed, complex algorithm to make sure that we can  execute across all those exchanges and still be able to bring back the  best execution quality back to our customer.   

Securing Partnerships With Market Makers To Provide Greater Liquidity 

Ehrlich  further noted that a greater level of “transparency” (from exchanges  and crypto-related service providers) was required before more investors  could be persuaded to invest in digital assets.He added:

We are legally required to disclose both quarterly and annual  reports as well as mergers, acquisitions, insider trading, securities  transactions by company insiders, and ownership changes.   

Going on to mention that Voyager is under obligation to  help its shareholders earn a return on their investments, Ehrlich  confirmed that the company had raised $7 million through private  funding, in addition to the most recent $60 million funding round.  Voyager’s management has also reportedly secured partnerships with ten  market makers and digital asset exchanges, in order to gain access to  more liquidity.Additionally, Voyager has been granted a money  transmitter license in 10 different US states. At present, the crypto  startup is planning to obtain the same license in 20 more US states.