CoinJar – bringing bitcoin into the mainstream world

CoinJar

CoinJar is a startup based out of Melbourne, Australia. The company was incorporated in 2013 and soon caught the attention of a Melbourne based startup accelerator, AngelCube.

CoinJar intends to contribute to the growth of the digital currency’s eco-system, their services attempt to bridge the existing divide between digital currencies and government issued fiat currencies. Coinjar currently offers their users three different services, the following are brief descriptions of their services:

• CoinJar Hosted Bitcoin Wallet 

CoinJar is essentially a hosted Bitcoin wallet. The term hosted refers to a form of wallet which is meant exclusively for transactional purposes and isn’t meant to be used for storage. The platform offers the best possible user experience on their highly streamlined web interface and also offers a multi-platform CoinJar app which allows you to buy, sell or even send Bitcoin at time you want.

The CoinJar wallet offers state of the art security protocols, i.e. multi-step authentication and additionally, their customer’s deposits are automatically transferred and stored offline for higher security.

• CoinJar Checkout 

CoinJar’s Checkout offers its users PayPal compatible API for merchants seeking to integrate Bitcoin payments in their operations. All of these value added services are offered at the industry standard of 1% Fee.

• CoinJar Filler 

You also use the CoinJar filler service which currently offers the lowest fees, in their attempt to provide merchants the most cost effective way to receive payments. The lower fees provide the Bitcoin economy a positive boast in terms of adoption, which has been positive received by the Bitcoin community.

• CoinJar Swipe – The Bitcoin Debit Card 

In late September, CoinJar released a hundred swipe cards through their early access program, CoinJar DNA. Swipe is the first Bitcoin EFTPOS card in Australia. When swiped it converts the bitcoins into Australian dollars for the payment, enabling Bitcoin transaction at every EFTPOS terminal.

ATO’s Ruling on Bitcoin

Australian Tax Office released a guidance paper on the government’s tax treatment for Bitcoin. The ruling drew widespread criticism from the Bitcoin community, over the harsh tax treatment for Bitcoin.

On Nov 3rd, CoinJar submitted an inquiry to the Australian Senate Economics References Committee of the Inquiry regarding digital currencies and an appropriate framework. CoinJar suggested that digital currencies should be treated similar to foreign currencies.

The oppressive policies adopted by the ATO regarding Bitcoin led CoinJar to migrate their operations to the UK, avoiding a GST surcharge on Bitcoin purchases. According to the company, despite moving operation abroad, CoinJar will still be maintaining a strong presence in Australia.

Customer Feedback

CoinJar started off as global personal finance company offering most of their services in Australia, the company grew out of its hometown and now offers Bitcoin merchant solutions globally. Their services have generally generated positive feedback on various social media platforms.

A reddit user’s comment on CoinJar

Now, I’m relatively new to the whole BTC scene, but I’m learning rather quickly. CoinJar make it very easy to buy, sell, and maintain your bitcoins. I very much recommend then to anyone here in Australia who is thinking about starting up.

Twitter:

@glenmaddern I signed up for @GetCoinJar last night, probably the most beautiful site / app I’ve seen on the web. Seriously great work.

Conclusion

CoinJar has been making waves on all social media platforms. Their user base has grown at an unprecedented exponential rate, a pleasant surprise for the Bitcoin economy. CoinJar seem to have carved out a decent market share for itself and intends to further innovate how we view and use Bitcoins. For more information on CoinJar visit their blogs for more insights into Bitcoin and CoinJar.