The cryptocurrency industry has experienced significant volatility and uncertainty in recent years with various regulatory challenges, market fluctuations, and security concerns.
Amidst this unstable situation, several companies have emerged as key players in reshaping the cryptocurrency trading and payment sector.
These companies are revolutionising the way individuals and institutions engage with cryptocurrencies, providing innovative solutions, improved security measures, and increased accessibility. One such fintech startup is Prosper.
Meet Prosper – a low-cost secure crypto trading platform
Prosper is an Amsterdam-based crypto exchange platform that dared to challenge the norms and reshape entire crypto sectors.
Its flagship offering is its low-cost Exchange platform, which features a market leading 0.03% fees, the lowest in the industry.
To put it into perspective, established exchanges like Kraken, Bitvavo, Coinbase charges 0.24%, 0.25% and 0.60%, respectively.
With such drastic cost advantages, traders no longer have to worry about pushing high volumes to make their investments worthwhile.
Prosper also provides two additional services — payments and a suite of institutional services.
Randy Vanenburg (CEO), Thomas van der Voort (CTO), and Dajana Nozic (CCO) founded Prosper in 2022.
The founders are experts in their respective fields, with Vanenburg having a background in product design, technology, and consulting for financial institutions, multinationals and governments.
Van der Voort has a technology background and previously worked as an consultant for large multinationals. Nozic has a background in financial crime and regulatory/compliance and previously worked for Mollie.
Inspiration: Make crypto trading affordable
According to Vanenburg, the inspiration behind establishing Prosper was to provide individuals and institutions with the lowest-cost trading platform, without having to commit to a certain 30-day volume.
“Trading crypto remains expensive, for example on exchanges like Coinbase you can easily pay up to 0.60% (Prosper is 95% cheaper with 0.03%). We wanted to change this by offering individuals and institutions the lowest trading fee for a monthly subscription. This is without committing to 30-day trading volume,” Vanenburg tells Silicon Canals.
Regulated by Dutch Authorities
Regulatory approval was one of the first challenges Prosper faced during the setup phase.
Opening up about the challenges, Vanenburg says, “Getting regulatory approval remains challenging for any prospective crypto company in the Netherlands. However, we pride ourselves on complying with all regulations in our jurisdiction.”
To strengthen the compliance processes, Prosper works with several industry leading services. Veriff to provide a seamless customer onboarding and document verification experience and Comply Advantage and Chainalysis for (AML/KYC) purposes.
According to Vanenburg, the company aims to secure the new MiCA licence through the Dutch Central Bank as soon as it becomes possible to register.
The company is fully compliant with Dutch regulatory requirements. As per the company, the process involved several steps, including vetting Prosper’s directors, submitting a detailed application, and providing information on the company’s compliance policies and financial standing.
What does Prosper offer?
Differentiating itself from traditional exchanges with standard fee models, Prosper stands out by offering a subscription-based revenue model.
Users can sign up for a Free account, without having to complete identity verification (KYC) to get familiar with the platform and start trading for 0.07% with a cap of €250 on incoming deposits. When a user completes its KYC these limits are lifted. Prosper offers several subscriptions ranging from €0,99 – €24,99 per month, to suit the user’s expected trading volume, offering an even further reduced fee schedule ranging from 0.06 – 0.03%.
How is it possible for Prosper’s fees to be significantly lower compared to other exchanges? ‘We have cultivated extensive experience in the crypto industry over the years and established valuable relationships that enable us to provide this exceptional offer to the market’, explains Vanenburg
Currently, the platform supports 70 euro trading pairs, enabling users to trade a wide variety of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Prosper plans to expand its list of supported cryptocurrencies, providing even more options for traders.
Security and privacy
Vanenburg emphasises that Prosper prioritises the privacy and security of its users.
The platform employs robust infrastructure, encryption protocols, and offline cold storage wallets to protect user accounts and transactions.
We have extensive measures in place to identify and combat fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing, Vanenburg says. In addition to this we employ industry leading technologies from Comply Advantage, Chainalysis and more to optimise our security processes.
Bootstrapped & growing
Prosper is a bootstrapped venture that requires no external funding for upkeep funding, says Vanenburg
“All funding is provided by the founders and significant investments have been made in the venture over the last months by the founding team,” he reveals.
Prosper employs five members – the CEO, CTO, CCO, social media manager, and SEO specialist.
“We aim to expand the team in the coming months,” Vanenburg discloses.
Over the coming months, Prosper plans to slowly expand into the EEA (European Economic Area), focusing on both individual and institutional clients.
“Especially with MiCA around the corner, we’re looking to passport into new jurisdictions,” he says.
The Dutch exchange company intends to raise a seed round to expand its business proposition and acquire market share.
The road ahead
“For now we’re focusing on optimising our product and providing the best customer experience in crypto by adding several improvements,” says van der Voort.
According to van der Voort, Prosper is also working on several developments, including establishing better partnerships to further reduce their already low fees.
Van der Voort also revealed the Amsterdam company plans to add more crypto trading pairs, and payment and payout methods. This will provide its customers with a wider range of options.
The company aims to make the Fiat onramp and offramp speeds even faster, providing customers with quicker access to their funds.
Furthermore, Prosper plans to add Staking (which will allow users to earn rewards by holding cryptocurrencies in the platform)
Finally, the company plans to introduce debit cards that users can use to make real-world purchases using their euro or cryptocurrency balance.
But that’s not all. Prosper is now offering an exclusive opportunity for new users. Register today using the code “SILICONCANALS” and enjoy a 20% discount on monthly and yearly subscriptions.
By taking advantage of this offer, you can access Prosper’s cutting-edge Exchange platform at an even more affordable rate.
Start trading with confidence and reap the benefits of trading with the lowest fee in the industry.
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