The Dood Interviews Sergey Nikitin of Xcoins.io
Sergey Nikitin has about twenty years of information technology experience. He holds a BS, Computer Science degree from UCSB and an MBA degree from UCLA. After graduating, Sergey was recruited to work at Microsoft. He later formed a software development outsourcing business. Sergey is passionate about cryptocurrencies and believes that they are the future of money. He wants xCoins to ultimately become a one stop shop for all cryptocurrency needs.
BitcoinDood: So what exactly is xcoins.io? I get the impression that it's an exchange, but you guys are doing things a little differently. Could you explain a little about how xcoins.io works, and what separates you from other exchanges like say Coinbase or Gemini?
Sergey Nikitin: xCoins is the leading destination for instant access to bitcoin . XCoins is one of the qucikest and easiest ways to get bitcoin and has one of the highest paying affiliate programs in the world that pays in bitcoin.
We are different in two ways:
- - From the client's perspective, we are quicker and we accept payment methods such as credit cards and even PayPal.
- From the business model perspective, we are a marketplace as opposed to an exchange. In other words, we do not sell bitcoin. Instead, we have users, who provide bitcoin to other users.
BitcoinDood: Getting set up on an exchange in the U.S. can be a daunting task. Do customers have to get verified before they can use the service? How does your verification process work, and after signing up, how fast can a user begin buying and selling?
Sergey Nikitin: It takes about 30 min for first-time users. The subsequent transactions are instant. If you're signing up for the first time at xCoins, you will need to upload and ID and a selfie while holding your ID with xCoins and the date written on a piece of paper. This is then sent to our approval team that does a detailed yet rapid cross-check of necssary information. While the speediness of our verification system is a huge advantage for new users and something very valued at xCoins, we do take security very seriously, and make sure we only approve individuals that have passed our verification criteria.
BitcoinDood: Reading over your faq, your company accepts major credit cards, as well as ACH and PayPal. Many bitcoin exchanges are leery about dealing with credit card companies and PayPal out of fear of chargebacks where the customer disputes the charge and the credit card company refunds their money. Does xcoins.io protect its users from the chargeback
problem? Also, are there any benefits the customer might receive by using their credit card?
Sergey Nikitin: The main benefit of using a credit card or PayPal is that it is possible to get bitcoin instantly, as opposed to waiting a few days for ACH (bank transfer).
The core competency of our company if mitigating the chargeback risks. In fact, we are so confident that our users, who provide bitcoin, will be protected from them that we even have a profit margin guarantee, which means that we will reimburse a user out of our pocket, if his/her profit margin falls below 50% with us. No one else in our industry or anywhere else for that matter offers anything similar.
BitcoinDood: OK, lets say I'm a first time user. I sign up on xcoins.io, go through the verification process and decide to buy some bitcoin. Could you give us a brief summary of the process?
Sergey Nikitin: That's the great thing about xCoins! It's super easy and convenient. You enter the amount of bitcoin you would like to receive and then our alogrithm does its magic. The bitcoin instantly appears in the user's wallet, after he makes the payment. Simple as that. The ease and convenience of getting bitcoin is what xCoins is known for.
BitcoinDood: From what I read, the selling process seems a little different than the average exchange as well. I logged into the site and didn't find an order book with buy and sell walls like most exchanges offer. Could you explain a little about how the selling process works and might differ from other exchanges?
Sergey Nikitin: That is correct. xCoins is not an exchange, we are a Peer to Peer Marketplace. Users can give their bitcoin to other users and receive a high premium of 15% for each transaction.
BitcoinDood: I see your exchange also offers a referral program. My readers and
I are always interested in ways to earn extra bitcoin. How exactly
does the referral program work? Do you payout in bitcoin?
Sergey Nikitin: You can earn money in three different ways. They can refer borrowers, lenders, or other affiliates (also called sub-affiliates) to the site. The commission is calculated as percentage of the xCoins loan origination fee, which can be 5% or higher of the transaction amount. Commissions are paid instantly in bitcoin to the xCoins wallet, and all affiliate commissions are paid for the lifetime of the customer. All you have to do is sign up for an xCoins account to start referring clients. It only takes a few minutes. No approval needed. Then you just refer users, and once they place a transaction, you receive the commission!
BitcoinDood: Well that covers just about all my questions. Thanks for being the
first exchange to be interviewed by The Dood. I really appreciate your time. Do you have anything you want to add that wasn't already addressed in the interview? Any company news, promo offers or special features we haven't talked about already?
Sergey Nikitin: Glad you asked! Now we have an ACH Payment method in select states, which allows getting bitcoin for only 1.5% fee. User can also instantly add their bank account payment method!
BitcoinDood: I always end my interviews with pretty much the exact same question. Cryptocurrency is a fairly new industry that seems to be growing by leaps and bounds every day. If you had a crystal ball in front of you, what do you think we would see in the future for
cryptocurrency in general? Any thoughts, predictions, or trends you could share about the future of cryptocurrency and the direction the industry may be heading in?
Sergey Nikitin: Sure. We will see significant changes in many aspects of our lives because of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in general. Banks will lose the monopoly on financial services. The financial services will become peer-to-peer, such as lending for example. There will be less financial fraud! Bitcoin is irreversible, plus there will be smart contracts. There will be less other type of fraud, as important information, title deeds for example, can be stored on blockchain. Finally, all goods and services will be cheaper in the future because of cryptocurrency, as it has smaller processing fees and there are no chargebacks. So, the technology will profoundly benefit everybody. We are living in an exciting time.
Thanks to Sergey Nikitin for taking the time to answer The Dood's questoins. The Dood wishes you and the xcoins.io team the best of luck on this project and all your future endeavors.
If you're interested in finding out more about xcoins.io you can check out their website here.
Disclaimer:
The Dood is not affiliated with xcoins.io in any way. Please do your own due diligence before sending money or bitcoin to any company. If you currently use xcoins.io or have in the past, please feel free to comment and tell us about your experience. Thanks for reading and happy trading everyone!
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