Australian Bitcoin market, Independent Reserve, announced today that it had become the first Australian exchange to offer Bitcoin trading directly in both U.S. and Australian dollars.
CEO Adrian Przelozny said the development would allow Australians to trade Bitcoin without facing the currency risks of converting to USD.
Independent Reserve has caught the attention of various prominent virtual currency industry leaders recently. In February, the exchange became the only Australian Bitcoin exchange to be included in the TeraBitSM Index, the global benchmark for Bitcoin pricing.
“People wanting to trade Bitcoin directly – as opposed to purchasing it through a facilitator as they do on some other Australian venues – have up until now faced the prospect of converting AUD to USD before they can do so,” he said.
“With the AUD falling against the USD, this hasn’t been great for Australians. Now, we have created a distinct pool within the exchange whereby people can trade Bitcoin in AUD without losing any value in currency conversion. It’s a big win for Australians” concluded Mr. Przelonzy.
Independent Reserve users can now issue a single buy or sell order that can be fulfilled directly within the AUD Bitcoin pool. Users will also be able to have multiple accounts in multiple currencies and be able to break single orders across multiple currencies, making Independent Reserve the only Australian Bitcoin exchange that can facilitate multi currency orders this way.
Mr Przelozny considers that there has been a strong trend towards people using Bitcoin to avoid hefty international currency exchange fees, and that multi-currency exchanges were a further step towards facilitating this. “People wishing to use the Bitcoin ecosystem to make payments in Australian dollars can enjoy pricing efficiencies by avoiding traditional currency conversion fees.
By buying Bitcoins in one currency and redeeming it in another, Independent Reserve customers can avoid the unnecessary high fees and charges from traditional FX providers.
Later this year, Independent Reserve will enable its users to exchange Bitcoin directly in New Zealand Dollars as well as AUD and USD.