Ethos Introduces Cashback Rewards for Token Holders Trading with Voyager
Ethos Introduces Cashback Rewards for Token Holders Trading with Voyager
In early 2019, Voyager will be launching their commission-free cryptocurrency investing app. Voyager will give users the power to use their smart order router technology, which connects to multiple exchanges, to get the best execution on their crypto purchases and sales.
Whether you are selling or buying in fiat or trading between cryptocurrencies, Voyager makes it simple, safe and offers you the best execution on every trade.
Ethos Universal Wallet will be integrating Voyager’s trading technology, enabling seamless commission-free trading, with best-execution speed, liquidity and price across multiple exchanges directly from your wallet.
Using the Wallet, users will always maintain control over private keys and custody of coins. Wallet holders will soon be able to directly transfer the tokens they manage to Voyager for instant trading, and back to the Ethos Universal Wallet for easy storing, tracking and transacting.
ETHOS Token Powered Cashback Rewards: How It Works
We will determine the level of cashback rewards you are eligible for by cross-referencing your Ethos Status, which is determined by the number of Ethos tokens you hold in your Universal Wallet, with your monthly trade volume through Voyager.
So, in order to be eligible for cashback rewards, you must…
1 – Gain Ethos Status by Holding Ethos Tokens in your Universal Wallet
Your Ethos Status will increase to higher-levels when you hold more Ethos Tokens in your wallet, it’s that simple. For example, 100 Tokens is Silver and 10,000 Tokens is Diamond.
For more information on Ethos Status, read: Ethos Status Powered by Ethos Token Ethos Status is built on Ethos Bedrock. Through our xAlert API, your Ethos Status is updated in real-time based on the amount of tokens you are holding in your wallet, unlocking features such as coin reviews ratings and more. Of course, the higher your status, the more cashback you will receive.
2. Actively Trade Using Voyager
The more trades, buys and sells that you perform using Voyager, alongside your Ethos Status, will unlock higher-levels of cashback rewards. Keep in mind, it’s not just the amount of trades, it’s the volume, so the larger your trades, the greater your cashback.
Making trades through Voyager is completely commission-free, so you also get the benefit of not having to deal with hidden fees and mark-up on your trades. Cashback rewards will be available for both the Voyager fiat gateway and cryptocurrency trading platform.
The Ethos Cashback Token Utility Equation & Cashback Levels
Disclaimer: Cashback Rewards will not be eligible through the Simplex & ShapeShift Services coming soon to the Universal Wallet. Cashback will only be available utilizing Voyager for trades, on the Voyager Platform and through the trader router in Ethos Universal Wallet. Cashback rates and levels are subject to change.
Ethos Token Utility - The Future is Bright
Today marks another major milestone for Ethos Token Utility. But truly, we are still just getting started. As we continue to expand our ecosystem and partnerships, we will continue to announce more token utility features and rewards for our community.
Voyager is an incredible partner for Ethos, and we look forward to more strategic partners who will work with us to make crypto more easy, fun and accessible to the mainstream, while always adding value to the network and empowering our token and users.
Stay tuned for more announcements and features to come in 2019, as we rapidly progress on the road to mass adoption! The future is for everyone.
Introducing Secure Hash - Enhanced Security in Universal Wallet
Introducing Secure Hash - Enhanced Security in Universal Wallet
What is Ethos SecureHash?
Upon creating your SmartWallet you are given a 24-word recovery phrase, which is connected to your account. This is also sometimes referred to as your private key or seed.
Ethos SecureHash is a safe way to ensure that the 24-word private key stored securely on your device is always compatible with the public key stored on Ethos Bedrock. It can confirm that the deposit addresses generated by Bedrock with the public key are compatible with your private Smart Key ensuring you can successfully transact.
This provides an integrity check, giving our customer service a way to cross-verify your account without transferring or revealing the information of your private key or 24-word key recovery phrase.
How Does Secure Hash Work?
When a user creates a Smart Key, there is a public and private key generated. The private key is the 24-words, the public key is what we call the extended public key. The extended public key generates your deposit addresses for all your wallets in the HD derivation paths.
We use the extended public key to tie a user to their account in Bedrock. We never store private keys. Until now, the extended public key has been blind and out of reach to the user, making it difficult to validate between user and bedrock.
With SecureHash, we take a unique hash of the extended public key, readily make this information available on the app for the user. This allows the app and the server to be cross-referenced to make sure there is a match.
Please keep in mind that SecureHash does not expose any private information – it’s simply an integrity check.
SecureHash will be automatically generated upon our next update, linked to every account upon re-logging in to their device and stored.
Why Do I have to Re-Login After the App Update?
This is an added security benefit to protect the accounts of all users, and ensure that with every major app-update, each user manually chooses to access their account, while also allowing the implementation of SecureHash and future features into every Universal Wallet.
Critical Info: Ethos Universal Wallet Update 1.5.2 Process
Once the Ethos Universal Wallet Update 1.5.2 is pushed out to all users, your app will require an upgrade before accessing your account. This is a forced upgrade.
If you don’t update your app automatically, once you open your app, you will be sent to a locked screen with a prompt to update your app. Simply, manually visit the iOS or Android app store to update your app.
Update Screen Bug: Please note, if your app has not already been updated to Version 1.5, and you are using an earlier version such as 1.3, the button to “Update your Universal Wallet in the App Store” on the lock screen will be inactive. This minor bug will be fixed with update 1.5.2.
Simply, visit the app store to update the app and you’ll be all set. You’ll be able to log-back in and access your account. All funds are completely safe during this process.
Updating the App
Once you upgrade your app, if you have an active SmartWallet and have generated a 24-word key phrase, your SecureHash will be created automatically in the backend of the app.
You can always find the SecureHash information in your “Privacy and Security Settings.”
Simply, log back into the app using your account information, and you will have access to the latest version of the Universal Wallet. It’s that easy!
Summary of the Benefits of SecureHash
- Added Security for Ethos Users.
- Ensures no mismatch between your 24-word key phrase and extended public key.
- Better Customer Support Experience.
- Universal Wallet users can use SecureHash for Customer Support without offering up your Private Key or sensitive account information.
- Added Ease of User Experience in the Universal Wallet.
- Secure Hash is stored in your User & Privacy Settings.
Ethos Update: An Open Letter to the Community
Ethos Update: An Open Letter to the Community
Let’s start with the stats. The Ethos Universal Wallet has grown rapidly to over 100,000 users, and has processed many times that many transactions. The wallet now has 143 transactable coins and support for multiple blockchain types and tokens.
Over 100k wallets have been created – more than one per user! We built an automated airdrop tool that processed airdrops for nearly 60,000 users across half a dozen coins without any impact to the base-level network. We’ve processed thousands of customer support tickets 100% within SLA with a 97% approval over the last month. We continue to strive for the most outstanding customer service in crypto.
In addition, we have just released Universal Wallet version 1.5, which is our biggest update ever – more than twice as many merges/bug fixes as any other release we’ve had thus far. In update 1.5, we have built ETHOS token utility directly into Bedrock through Ethos Status.
In short, Ethos Status gives users varying status levels depending on the number of tokens they hold. With Ethos’s account structure, it also allows that “status” to be shared among multiple applications – allowing partners to build token utility directly into their applications. As a start, in the wallet, Ethos tokens give users elevated review visibility, review weight and a status badge. As the second phase of the fiat gateway is built, Ethos Status will be integrated into the user experience and benefits.
Furthermore, Bedrock has been delivered nearly a year ahead of schedule. While it was initially slated for mid-2019, Bedrock was unveiled in August 2018 as a fully functioning platform that is up and running at scale today, powering the Universal Wallet.
Bedrock is an API layer that enables Ethos and other financial institutions to seamlessly interact with multiple blockchains, to power a wide variety of crypto-based applications, including custody, wallets, merchant payment services and more. For example, one of our APIs, xAlert, can notify users of transaction changes to their wallets in real-time and is the API behind Ethos Status! Bedrock opens Ethos to exciting new partnerships, and gives us the ability to expand our institutional-grade services.
With the announcement of Bedrock, Ethos also announced an exciting partnership with Voyager to deliver best-execution trading and broker services to Universal Wallet users. As part of this relationship, Voyager will be building on Bedrock and Ethos Status will be integrated into the experience. We are excited for the upcoming integration of our technologies, as we are working closely to revolutionize how people invest and transact with crypto.
Let’s be real, the poor cryptocurrency market conditions have been extreme, as we have been braving what I’ve called the Crypto Nuclear Winter. And while the sell-off has been challenging for token holders and the wider-crypto community and industry alike, I think it’s important to focus on why in the long-run it’s extremely beneficial for crypto and for Ethos.
The rapid growth of crypto attracted a lot of people in the industry, with big hopes and dreams, but lacking the know-how and the practical knowledge, capital and compliance to fulfill and pursue those dreams. The bear market has served as a cleansing mechanism for those less than integrous companies, or simply those lacking the knowledge to execute their vision while still raising significant capital.
This bear market has also been a gift to established and quality crypto companies, giving us ample time to build our technology and develop the regulatory-friendly infrastructure for true mass adoption of crypto assets. This time has been precious, and our development, executive and marketing team has used it to put our heads down and build the launch pad of a financial revolution.
In my meetings across the globe, it’s been very apparent that some of the greatest talent from traditional finance sectors have moved into the crypto market to use their knowledge of the previous financial systems, to support the development of this one. It’s this infrastructure and its maturity, which will take time to evolve and grow.
As Ethos reflects on the past and looks towards the future, we’ve accomplished a lot, but still have a lot to build. We’ve completed the Universal Wallet and Bedrock which are two of the foundational pieces of technology for the fiat gateway and crypto-payments.
Ethos is here to stay, and I wanted to write our community directly to reassure you on our bright road to mass adoption ahead. Our focus to come will be on the future of the fiat gateway, enhancing the token support on Universal Wallet and Bedrock and developing additional blockchain architectures for applications at scale.
And of course, building a financial future which is open, safe and fair for everyone.
Sincerely,
Shingo & the Ethos Team
Ethos Status – Powered by the Ethos Token
Ethos Status – Powered by the Ethos Token
What is Ethos Status?
Essentially, Universal Wallet users will be assigned a status and badge based on the amount of Ethos tokens that they currently hold inside the Universal Wallet. Your badge and status will be interactive and responsive to the number of tokens you hold in your SmartWallet, and will change as you add or subtract Ethos tokens.
The level of your Ethos status will correlate to enhanced features in the wallet, which we explain below. And in the future, Ethos Status will expand to include discounted rates on exchange and fiat gateway functionalities, etc.
We built Ethos Status through an enhancement to Bedrock xAlert, in which we are now able to associate the amount of ETHOS a user is holding with their account and in-turn implement a tiered system of benefits.
Today, we announce our first round of benefits, although they will expand as Ethos and the Universal Wallet functionalities grow.
Ethos Status Tiers
In this first implementation of token utility, we encourage users to stake their ETHOS in the Universal Wallet. The amount of ETHOS you have staked in the wallet, will determine your status from Shrimp to Humpback Whale! With each level you get a badge that’s displayed on your profile.
Disclaimer: Ethos Status Levels and Badges may change in the future – as we learn more about how to enhance and refine this feature for our community.
While the Ethos Badge will be a default feature, we understand some users may want the benefits that come with their Ethos Status tier, but not want others in the community to have insights into their holdings, so we’ve made displaying your status a feature that is optional and can be simply turned off in your user profile settings.
Ethos Status Perks
We have built a new feature for all users, the ability to leave and rank a written review. At each ascending level of Ethos Status, we increase the the power of your coin ratings, so that your vote matters and your voice stands out in the community.
Increased Voting Power
Your Ethos Status impacts the weight of your Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down on reviews written by fellow crypto enthusiasts. Each review can be up or down voted by community members in the Ethos ecosystem, and reviews can be sorted by helpfulness.
Below is the chart which outlines the levels of thumbs up power we have for our various Ethos Status levels.
Showcased Comments
The higher your Ethos Status, the greater the likelihood that your comment on a Token will be featured in the showcase, and put towards the top to inform others on your insights on a given coin.
These showcased comments will then have the opportunity to be voted on by the community with a thumbs up or thumbs down, based on how helpful your comment is. Of course these votes will be powered by their Ethos Status, as outlined above.
By having a greater influence on the platform through being a Ethos Token Holder, you have the opportunity to support guiding the community with your crypto insights and opinions, which are then self-regulated by other members in the community with their own voting power.
Build Influence on the Ethos Platform
As you leave helpful reviews on various coin profiles, you have the opportunity to get upvoted, which can lead to our Ethos users clicking on your coin profiles, and following you on social.
Status Tip: Before Ethos Status launches, make sure you update your user profile with your social media info!
See a review you like? Check out the users profile and follow them on other platforms. Learn from the community, join the discussion, and grow your crypto network!
Important: All users have the opportunity to not disclose their social information and can remain anonymous at all times.
The ETHOS Token Utility Future is Bright
This is just the beginning of ETHOS token utility. We will be testing these features and enhancing them as we continue to grow, to explore enriching the users experience of the Universal Wallet.
We are so excited to share what’s in store. Stay tuned, get engaged and wear your Ethos Status with pride!
Universal Wallet - Much-Anticipated 1.5 Update & What’s to Come
Universal Wallet - Anticipated 1.5 Update & What’s to Come
We highly encourage all users to please go to the app store to update your app to the latest version.
Performance Enhancements
The dev-team has been hard at work ensuring that you have the snappiest and smoothest cryptocurrency wallet available in your hands, and this update will mark a series of radical performance enhancements we will be making.
Whether you are opening your app to the home screen, loading SmartWallets, WatchFolios and even pulling up coin charts, the app has been leaned out for faster loading times and for charts to require less in-app resources. We have also changed to a new homepage framework so that you can scroll through your SmartWallets and WatchFolios faster and easier than ever.
By changing the way we cache data and call data inside the app, we’ve been able to reduce all relevant load-times. Let us know what you think – and how we can continue to increase performance.
Ethos Coin Library – Profiles, Reviews & Comments
Coin Profiles have now been enhanced, including the ability for the community to rate tokens, leave comments, see their comments in the showcase and upvote or downvote comments based on whether they find them helpful.
We have also added education and social links to each Coin Profile so you can easily click to see read a token’s white paper or see that latest updates and announcements in their social channels.
Ethos Status
Universal Wallet users who store ETHOS tokens will now unlock power features inside the app – being one of our first features of ETHOS token utility we introduce for our users.
The more ETHOS tokens you hold, the more power you have in the Ethos Universal Wallet. For now, it determines the level of your Ethos Status, pushes your comments into a higher-priority of the showcase and increases the voting power of comments you find helpful.
And for those wondering, Ethos Status is enabled by enhancements to the Bedrock xAlert API.
Click here to read our full article on Ethos Status.
New Coin Integrations & Architecture
For this latest app-update release, we welcome AdBank Network Token (ADB) to the Universal Wallet, and in the near future Ethereum Classic (ETC). Users will be able to store, track, send and receive ADB Tokens after updating their wallet to 1.5.
Disclaimer: Ethereum Classic will only be available upon our forced upgrade and manual activation process, and will not be available and fully transactable upon downloading the latest upgrade. Stay tuned to Ethos Social Channels for when we announce ETC is fully live in the Universal Wallet!
Most notably, our dev-team has re-designed the internal architecture to help expedite the process of integrating tokens in the future. Meaning more tokens will be coming soon to a Universal Wallet near you. We’ve also been gathering your votes for the tokens which are up next on deck for our integration process!
Coming Soon to Ethos Universal Wallet
New Features:
Fiat Gateway with Simplex – Soon, Universal Wallet users will be able to purchase crypto with Fiat and withdrawal their crypto to Fiat using Simplex. We are clearing the way to release this in our next major app-update 1.6.
Coin Swaps with ShapeShift – Due to meeting the new compliance and regulatory frameworks required for our ShapeShift integration, ShapeShift and coin swaps are now currently set for our app-update 1.7.
Push Notifications – Whether it’s the latest update, a change to your Ethos Status or in the future coin news and alerts, we will soon have push notifications active in the Universal Wallet, so we can always keep you informed at the push of a button.
Bedrock in Action
Payroc – Merchant Solution
The Ethos Team is rapidly advancing our crypto payment service in partnership with Payroc, using Ethos Bedrock. First, we are setting up the frameworks to on-board merchants. Account creation, verification and getting their wallets created, so we can supply them with the easy-integration of a “Pay with Crypto” button for their websites.
This will give online merchants the power to perform complete crypto transactions, and have it be fully functional with their existing product/service delivery or payment system. We will keep you posted with our progress and share a demo soon!
Big Thanks to our Community!
With every major update, we advance forward toward the new economy. Let us know what features you would like to see us add by emailing us at [email protected].
The future is bright!
How We're Working to Tackle Crypto’s Biggest Pain Points
How We're Working to Tackle Crypto’s Biggest Pain Points
Crypto can be confusing, overwhelming and downright scary for anyone, whether they are tech savvy or not. Managing private keys, multiple wallets, passwords and dodging phishing sites and even the fear of getting hacked, has often been too intimidating for average people to take a real foray into Crypto.
While the casual investor relies on a third-party custodian, we all know that unless you control the private keys, you don’t control the crypto. Ironically, it’s these barriers to entry which are also the underlying qualities that gives crypto its revolutionary value.
Since Ethos began, we’ve been focused on tackling the biggest barriers to entry into crypto, while streamlining the utilization of it in the real-world as we play our part to help catalyze a revolution to a more fair and free new economy. We do this by building products which are simple, safe and secure, yet dynamic and innovative.
In this article we highlight the biggest pain points in crypto, and our approach in solving them.
1) Crypto is Too Complicated (and Intimidating!)
Ain’t that the truth! Imagine that you’re trying to buy Bitcoin so you can buy altcoins from an exchange, only to then have to figure out how to download four different wallets. Once you have those wallets, you have to keep them updated plus manage the private & public keys. The process to acquire crypto right now takes too many steps, so it’s no surprise that people just give up and walk away from the possible benefits.
In fact, every person that works for Ethos has personally overcome these hurdles and intimately understands the struggles consumers are facing.
The idea was simple – if we give users the power to safely and simply store, track, send & receive crypto, then it can be a more integrated part of their daily lives. The Universal Wallet gives users the ability to send crypto as easily as they could with PayPal or Venmo, thus increasing the likelihood of exchanging crypto among peers.
Soon you will be able to swap and purchase coins and have them directly show up in your wallet. Making it a one-stop shop for acquiring, accumulating and storing.
Benefits include:
- Store your tokens, coins and digital assets safely and securely on your mobile device.
- You’re in complete control thanks to your PIN and biometric data (i.e., fingerprint) combined with safe and secure leading encryption techniques.
- Generate new wallet addresses and manage multiple wallets at the touch of a button.
- Sending and receiving just got breezier. Do you have a friend that wants to send you crypto? No problem, you are just two-clicks away from pulling up your wallets public address and QR-code!
Securing your assets doesn’t have to be panic-inducing. Ethos has smoothed out the barriers so you can focus on making wise crypto investment decisions.
2) Centralized Storage
As we just covered above, being able to safely and securely store assets in a simple (even beautiful) way has been a pain point since the early days of crypto. With traditional assets like fiat currency, our current financial system is structured in a way that pushes us to participate in centralized storage – forcing us to hand over full control (or self-custody) of our assets.
The consequences of such a system have been at times grave. Case in point, the financial crisis of 2008 left banks unable to provide consumers with ready access to their funds, requiring a government bailout to keep the broken system afloat. Unfortunately, the crypto space has seen a similar push towards centralized systems of storage and asset exchange, and at times the outcomes have not been pretty.
Mysterious disappearances of digital assets on exchanges like Mt. Gox, Bitfinex, and a multitude of other centralized cryptocurrency exchanges have shown time and time again that entrusting custody with 3rd parties is often ill advised and risky.
If it’s so dangerous, then why are people doing it?
Frankly put, because it’s easy. Instead of needing to manage multiple unique cryptographic private keys and regularly updating software wallets that have confusing user interfaces, it’s easier and less scary to have that done for you. But at what cost?
We saw the challenges people were facing and decided that if we were to truly advocate for financial empowerment, there needed to be a better solution that enables decentralized storage and self-custody. Enter the Ethos Universal Wallet. The capabilities of this mobile-first smart wallet smooth out and simplify the process for you, so that you can maintain control. One wallet, your assets, with you in complete control.
3) The fees are too high!
Whether you are buying crypto or trying to sell crypto to fiat, the fees are plentiful! It’s undeniable. If you’re storing your assets on a centralized exchange that does not offer Crypto-Fiat services, you likely need to pay a fee that exceeds the mining costs to just get your coins off the exchange. If only it stopped there – those fees are quickly followed by additional fees tacked on by the Crypto-Fiat exchange provider, often far exceeding 1% of the total balance being converted to fiat.
A low cost, self-custodied solution has yet to surface in the market. Until now. Through the powerful partnership between Ethos and Voyager, we enable a new era of crypto-fiat trading. We venture to solve the multiple layers of crypto dilemmas, by mitigating losses to conversion fees and all the many concerns over whether or not you will be paid what is rightfully yours when airdrops or forks occur to an asset you own.
Together, Ethos and Voyager bring forth crypto solutions in real terms.
4) It’s a Scam
There is often a gut reaction to assume the worst of things we don’t understand. Most especially when it involves people making or losing money. At Ethos, we understand that our users want to truly feel comfortable and confident navigating the cryptoverse. That’s why we have been working hard to build out a wealth of educational content.
From our video series that can be found here to the coin profiles in the app, we are building out resources to educate newcomers and veterans on the underlying technology, and what different projects in the space are building!
Our coin profiles will soon feature an enhanced rating and review system as well as links to the official websites, social accounts, githubs, and other resources vital to understanding a blockchain project. The Universal Wallet will be a central hub of data, allowing you to develop a deeper understanding of what different blockchain projects are building and how others view those endeavors.
5) Poor to No Customer Support
A common complaint voiced about most industries is the experience of contacting customer support. The crypto space is no exception, and may in fact be known for exceptionally poor customer support. Whether it takes days to hear a response to your inquiry, there’s an inability to provide a solution to the problem or there is simply no response at all, most of us leave feeling uneasy or frustrated.
When you raise a support ticket through Ethos Customer Support, we have customer support reps responding within 10 minutes. We believe that ongoing education and open lines of communication are key to providing a high level customer support experience. Our support reps and community moderators have meetings twice a week, regularly speaking with our Chief Product Officer, head of IT & Security and Marketing Director to stay up to date with the latest developments at Ethos and have all their questions answered. At Ethos, we genuinely pride ourselves on having the best 24/7 customer support team in the industry.
We know that providing security should not stop at building formidable technology. Beyond exceptional management and enthusiastic support reps, a central tenet to our hiring process is identifying people who truly understand. People who understand the technology, our products and the sometimes overwhelming experience of navigating this emerging sector. Because, we’ve all been there. We have sent that transaction and been worried it was lost in the ether, we have forgotten our passwords and we have felt the panic of not hearing back from support.
Through firsthand experience, a strong sense of empathy and human-centered design, our support reps, developers and team as a whole understand the importance of your needs in the New Economy.
Your needs are our needs. As a collective – community members, technologists and creatives – we are Ethos.
We are here for you.
Q&A with Voyager CEO and Co-Founder Steve Ehrlich
Q&A with Voyager CEO and Co-Founder Steve Ehrlich
Getting to Know You
Tell us the origin story of Voyager. How did it all come about?
My co-founders and I sat down last year for breakfast in Soho to talk about a potential crypto business. After that, the breakfasts continued weekly and our idea grew bigger, and bigger. The five of us have each respectively built successful businesses in the technology and finance sectors, and when we looked at the current offering in the crypto market we knew we could do better. We believed (and still do) that crypto was here to stay and that the market was only going to grow larger and more mature. We wanted to be a part of the financial revolution and we knew that we could give investors the solutions they deserved.
What inspired you to make the switch from traditional finance to crypto?
Early in my career I worked at TIR, one of only 3 global soft dollar brokers when the Soft Dollar Brokerage industry emerged. At Lightspeed Financial, I led the first Broker Dealer solely focused on active traders and automated trading. As CEO of Tradier, I led an API brokerage before any broker dealers were utilizing that technology. I’ve been fortunate enough to be at the forefront of many financial revolutions, including online trading at E*Trade. Crypto seemed like the obvious next step for me and is too exciting to miss out on being a participant in that community..
This industry being so new, what gave you the confidence in crypto and blockchain to take the big leap?
As soon as I learned about the technology, I knew it was the next big thing. It’s one of the few emerging technologies that I felt had major growth potential. We had seen the “internetization” of information and media. Money seemed like the logical next evolution.That being said, when I looked into the existing infrastructure, I could see it was lacking many of the components that drove equities and online trading to be successful.
What are the biggest hurdles you have had to overcome while building Voyager?
The crypto market is so new and because of that it’s sort of the wild west. There is very little regulatory guidance and there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding the technology. For us, a lot of work went into making sure we were following the existing regulation and preparing for a more regulated future while still honoring the disruptive nature of crypto.
There’s also a major liquidity issue in the market. We knew from day one that we wanted to be aggressive in the assets that we offered. It was difficult to find reputable custody partners that supported a wide range of crypto assets. By building a Smart Order Router that connected to multiple exchanges and partnering with elite partners like Ethos we’ve been able to create a custody and liquidity network unlike any other in the market.
Tell us a little bit about the team culture at Voyager. How does the team currently operate and how do you see it expanding?
Collectively our founders and employees have built businesses in nearly every sector — finance, technology, healthcare, crypto, and more. We’re not scared to pave the way and cause disruption – which is really important in this space. All of our experience seemed to prepare us perfectly to take on the crypto market. Over the last year we’ve grown from a couple of friends getting coffee, to a full fledged team across multiple offices. It’s been a lot of fun! Every employee at Voyager is passionate about crypto and genuinely wants it to be for the masses.
The Voyager Technology
Voyager has built your signature Smart Router technology, how does that work and compare to other order execution engines?
The current crypto asset market structure forces investors to find liquidity and competitive pricing on their own – often leading customers to open multiple accounts on different exchanges and trading platforms. Our smart order router does the work for you. We’re connected to multiple trusted and secure exchanges and liquidity providers. The router is designed to be constantly monitoring order books and always knows where to achieve best execution, even if that means filling an order fractionally across multiple exchanges. It processes data in real-time and executes orders within milliseconds of a customer placing a trade. (You can learn more about it here.)
Can you share about the differences and similarities of how your technology is used for the purposes of a Fiat Gateway vs Crypto Trading?
Trading is just the beginning. We want to make more crypto assets available to more people. In order to do this, there needs to be a reliable fiat gateway to the crypto market. We’ve built this by partnering with the best liquidity providers and custodians in the industry. Our technology allows users to convert their fiat currencies from a bank account to a wide range of crypto assets instantly. There’s no crypto trading, investing, or purchasing without a fiat gateway.
So the big question! Can I just simply pay with cash via Debit Card or Bank Account to purchase crypto, and then it shows up in my Universal Wallet?! Will it be that easy?
Yes, that’s the goal! Customers will be able to connect their bank accounts and buy 15+ crypto assets (including Ethos in the near future) with USD. Ethos wallet holders will be able to seamlessly transfer their assets in and out of their wallets with fiat trading being integrated soon.
Ethos x Voyager – Explained
We see Ethos and Voyager as a “match made in heaven.” How do you envision Ethos and Voyager working closely together to build the future of finance?
We’re creating a truly integrated product built solely to benefit customers. Together with Ethos we’re bringing news, research, best execution trading, a wide range of crypto assets, self-custody, a payment mechanism and world class service to the crypto market. Execution and custody are the biggest hindrances in the crypto industry maturing. With Ethos, we help solve that directly!
The Ethos Universal Wallet will be integrated into the Voyager retail and institutional businesses, allowing customers to self-custody their crypto assets and seamlessly convert back-and-forth to fiat. Together, we’ll offer both retail and institutional crypto investors unparalleled liquidity, speed, and security.
Voyager and Ethos share the joint vision of a financial system that is open, safe, and fair for everyone. We believe that crypto is the future, and together we’re building the infrastructure to support and drive mass adoption.
Ethos has built Bedrock – an enterprise application making blockchain accessible to institutions like yours. How does Voyager intend to integrate and utilize Ethos’ Bedrock technology?
Bedrock will help strengthen the institutional offering. The combined Bedrock and Voyager B2B offering will enable businesses of all types to build crypto applications rooted in custody, payments, investing, and more. Voyager’s institutional partners will have access to Bedrock for a powerful custody solution, while Ethos Bedrock customers now gain access to trade execution. We get to offer the full package.
The Timeline
We are on the edge of our seats…When will Voyager release?
Soon! Our public beta is just weeks away. After release, we will upgrade and evolve the app quickly but we are extremely proud of the application that we will ship this year.
So it will be available to the US first, what’s the plan for international expansion?
We’re spending significant time with US counsel to bring Voyager to all 50 states. We’re also working with international regulators to bring Voyager outside of the US as quickly as possible, but we don’t have a set timeline in place yet.
As a visionary, how do you foresee crypto transforming how money is used in our daily lives and in a digital age?
I believe that crypto evolution will happen in 4 areas: buying (converting fiat to crypto), trading (investing), holding (custody), and paying (or transferring). Today, we’re seeing people participating in all four of these pillars but mass adoption hasn’t occurred yet in any single one. Trading is the only crypto use case that has seen any significant adoption. I believe that with time, people will use crypto assets in their daily life but first, the market needs to grow and mature to support this shift. Some of the strongest use cases for crypto are happening in countries with hyperinflation. People living in Venezuela, for example, have an alternative, independent currency that’s actually worth something. Crypto will democratize finance and I think that’s a really good thing. It’s about time that money moves as fast as information does these days. Crypto and Blockchain are what make that happen.
Thank you for your amazing answers, last big question! We jumped in Doc’s car, hit the gas and gunned it to the future. It’s now the end of 2020, what do you see for Voyager?
We believe that the financial industry is in a transformational phase. Payments, trading, custody and clearing are all changing because of crypto. Some changes will take place in the short term, but the bigger disruption will probably take more time. We want to be at the forefront –– educating consumers and regulators, developing solutions, and leading the way towards a more democratized financial future. Long term, the possibilities of blockchain technology and crypto are endless. We are confident that equities will take form as digital assets, crypto will be used at your corner store, and many companies will look more like decentralized networks. In the meanwhile, the industry has a lot of work to do!
Ethos x Voyager Partnership FAQ
Ethos x Voyager Partnership FAQ
How high are fees for crypto to fiat, and vice versa, transactions?
Voyager is a commission-free trading application and is not planning on having any fees for trades and purchases.
When is the Voyager Platform launching?
Currently slated for Q4 2018 and will be released in phases. The launch of Voyager’s integration into Ethos & Universal Wallet is separate, although is happening leading into and post-Voyager’s launch. No official date has been announced for the Ethos x Voyager integration. More announcements will be made upon completion of major milestones.
When will the Fiat Gateway be available?
A lot of work is being done to ensure the integration between Ethos and the Voyager execution platform is seamless. No official date has been announced for the launch of the Fiat Gateway. More announcements will be made upon completion of major milestones.
Which coins will be supported?
The supported coins for trading are currently being finalized. Voyager and Ethos are ensuring that appropriate trade execution and custody solutions are in place for each of the supported coins. Voyager will announce the first list of supported coins when their mobile application launches later this month. This will help determine the coins that Voyager and Ethos support together via the Fiat Gateway.
Why is Voyager interested in Bedrock?
Bedrock enhances the custody offering for Voyager, opening up support of coins that Voyager’s existing custody partners do not support and increases speed to market for new coins. This enhances both the Voyager retail trading application, in addition to the Voyager institutional offering. For both businesses, Ethos and Voyager solve the crypto retail and institutional markets biggest problems – custody and liquidity. Additionally, Voyager aims to honor the self-custody nature of crypto and offer this to their customers who wish to take full ownership of their crypto assets, through the Ethos Universal Wallet and other Bedrock applications.
What is a crypto broker? Is this different from a broker dealer?
A crypto broker is an agent that acts on behalf of crypto investors to execute their order. Though regulation does not require the form of “best execution” for this service, Voyager and Ethos believe strongly that crypto investors have the right to “best execution” and their trades should be processed to seek optimal liquidity, price, speed and reliability. A broker-dealer is a licensed entity that operates as previously described, but requires the license for securities. Voyager executes orders according to many of the standards of a broker-dealer, however does not engage this license as currently supported assets are not deemed securities.
Will Voyager support security tokens in the Future?
Yes, this is on the Voyager roadmap for the future, TBA. This is subject to strict regulatory and technical compliance, and will be executed up to latest compliance standards.
What is the scope of the MVP?
The MVP execution between Voyager and Ethos will be to bring an integrated Fiat Gateway to Ethos users. Voyager will give Ethos users the power to convert fiat currency into the Ethos Token or other crypto assets and these tokens into fiat, all within their wallet, allowing a seamless mechanism to trade through Voyager’s platform.
What features and solutions can be expected from this partnership?
We anticipate a number of exciting features and solutions to come via the partnership between Voyager and Ethos. The goal is to seamlessly integrate Voyager’s trade execution, Ethos’s Universal Wallet and Ethos Bedrock with one another. Perfecting that integration is our primary goal but we are excited to explore features around portfolio optimization, lending, and more.
Will Voyager allow buying and selling of Crypto, includling Crypto to Crypto and Crypto to Fiat trading?
At the official launch of Voyager this year, Voyager will support Fiat to Crypto and Crypto to Fiat trading. Crypto to Crypto transactions are already in our development log and this feature is slated for early 2019. All of these exchange features will be made available to Ethos Universal Wallet users upon completion of the integration.
Will Voyager support bank deposits/withdrawals?
Yes. Bank deposits and withdrawals are supported for US residents.
Which countries will Voyager be available in?
Voyager will only be available to US residents immediately after launch. International expansion is a key goal and priority for Voyager. Voyager will approach international expansion similarly to US market rollout, seeking required money transmitter licensing in markets that are required to support fiat trading.
What are the minimum limits for purchases on Voyager?
The minimum trade and transfer (withdrawal / deposit) amount on Voyager is $10 USD.
Will Voyager require KYC/AML?
Voyager has integrated Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes as a part of the account opening process. KYC & AML is required to perform the trading applications within the service. This helps ensure the safety of our customers and business in accordance with compliance.
Can you clarify the how Voyager will be integrated into the Ethos Universal Wallet?
As mentioned, Voyager will enable in-app purchases of cryptocurrencies utilizing a best-in-class Fiat Gateway, and crypto to crypto exchanges and trading utilizing the Voyager Smart Router & Liquidity Network system.
Does Voyager plan to support alternate international currencies, other than USD? For example, Euro, Pound, Yen, etc.
USD is currently the only supported fiat currency on the Voyager platform at this moment, however, we will roll out support for other fiat currencies as part of the international expansion plan.
How fast will orders be executed?
The Voyager Smart Order Router has the capacity to execute orders in milliseconds and has real-time access to the order books of exchange partners. As the limits or constraints of an order can vary, Voyager cannot guarantee time execution, however, the Voyager execution system is built to execute market orders instantly.
How long will it take for the crypto I purchase to be made available in my SmartWallet or to be accessible for withdrawal?
Full custody or withdrawal of crypto requires the underlying principal amount to have cleared. Once transfers have cleared, crypto withdrawals will happen in time with respective network speeds.
How long will it take for fiat to transfer to my bank account and be made available?
Fiat transfers will be subject to standard ACH and wire transfer timelines.
What banking information will be stored by Voyager/Ethos?
Voyager stores customer’s bank name, account type, account number, routing number, and most recent account balance. Banking credentials are not stored and deposits and withdrawals are powered by a 3rd party provider.
Can I get a debit card through Voyager?
This feature will not be available at launch with Voyager. Given the payment functionality of the Ethos Wallet and the growing number of outlets that accept crypto in payment transactions, Voyager is exploring possibilities to help account holders access and make use of their crypto assets. This may include debit cards, though this is still to be determined. We will keep the community updated on any product announcements related to debit cards and payments.
Ethos x Voyager – A ground-breaking partnership to power the future of finance.
Ethos x Voyager – A ground-breaking partnership to power the future of finance.
Shingo Lavine (CEO) will be joining the Voyager Advisory Board to oversee the execution of the integration of the partnership, closely supporting the development process.
In the growing New Economy, powerful solutions are needed and demanded by consumers. Together, Ethos and Voyager are ushering in an era of fairer practices that serve the people.
Ethos aims to create a financial ecosystem that is open, safe and fair for everyone. That begins with the Ethos Universal Wallet, a secure, self-custodied mobile wallet where the user is in control of funds at all times.
Voyager will give Ethos users the power to convert fiat currency into the Ethos Token or other crypto assets and these tokens into fiat, all within their wallet, allowing a seamless mechanism to trade through Voyager’s platform. This best-in-class Fiat Gateway, and crypto to crypto exchanges and trading, will utilize Voyager Smart Router & Liquidity Network system.
Stephen Ehrlich, CEO of Voyager, said: “With this transformative partnership in place, we believe we are offering the first end-to- end, fully integrated solution in the crypto asset space.
We are always seeking out products and solutions that enhance the experience for crypto investors and these best-in-class solutions from Ethos are a perfect complement for us, further strengthening our offerings and goal of operating a unique, pure-play, open architecture platform.”
These two solutions providers, working hand-in-hand, will help resolve some of the biggest pain points in crypto. Ethos users will have a safe and seamless method for converting between fiat and cryptocurrency, and Voyager can provide robust wallet solutions across their retail and institutional platforms.
“This partnership creates a true bridge between traditional and institutional finance within the crypto-asset market to create a dynamic and borderless financial ecosystem,” Shingo Lavine said.
Together we are excited to build the future of crypto finance.
43 New Coins Coming to Universal Wallet
43 New Coins Coming to Universal Wallet
The latest app update 1.3 and these new tokens are currently in beta-testing courtesy of our product council. The report so far: Things are running nice and smooth.
We recently surveyed our community to receive your feedback on the top cryptocurrencies you would like to see integrated into the Universal Wallet most, and we are prioritizing our next rounds of coin integrations based on your feedback. #peoplepowered
To fill out the survey and get your voice heard, click here.
Coin Integrations – Optimized
We now have an entire dev division of Ethos solely dedicated to coin integrations. Having recently upgraded our entire coin integration system to be smoother and faster, Ethos is fully powered to onboard more tokens with every cycle of major updates.
| CRYPTO20 | C20 |
| CPChain | CPC |
| Jibrel Network | JNT |
| LGO Exchange (Legolas Exchange) | LGO |
| PCHAIN | PAI |
| Pundi X | NPXS |
| Ambrosus | AMB |
| Mainframe | MFT |
| Selfkey | KEY |
| AdEx | ADX |
| ETHLend | LEND |
| Eidoo | EDO |
| IoTeX | IOTX |
| District0x | DNT |
| Ripio Credit Network | RCN |
| AirSwap | AST |
| Quantstamp | QSP |
| Raiden | RDN |
| Endor Protocol | EDR |
| DMarket | DMT |
| NAGA | NGC |
| Refereum | RFR |
| FuzeX | FXT |
| KickCoin | KICK |
| Noah Coin | NOAH |
| Edgeless | EDG |
| United Traders Token | UTT |
| BitRent | RNTB |
| TomoChain (TomoCoin) | TOMO |
| Fusion | FSN |
| GoNetwork (GoToken) | GOT |
| DATA | DTA |
| Huobi Token | HT |
| UTRUST | UTK |
| Tokenomy | TEN |
| Telcoin | TEL |
| Trade Token (Trade.io) | TIO |
| OriginTrail (Trace) | TRAC |
| Distributed Credit Chain | DCC |
| Soarcoin | SOAR |
| Genaro Network | GNX |
| Cube | AUTO |
| Egretia | EGT |
Welcoming New Tokens & Communities to Universal Wallet!
Ethos Universal Wallet App-Update 1.3 will be released very shortly. So be on the lookout for the notification to update your wallet in the App Store + Play Store.
Ethos is thrilled to be a safe and simple way for these communities and token holders, to store, track, send and receive these tokens. We invite you to rate these tokens once they are added and share your thoughts.
We will make an official announcement once the tokens are live in the Universal Wallet – stay tuned!
Have questions? Want to join the people-powered movement?
Join the conversation on our Official Ethos Telegram channel!
Also, join the conversation on our Ethos Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn
