BitGo Eliminates Bitcoin Transaction Delays With Launch of BitGo Instant

BitGo Inc. is today announcing the launch of BitGo Instant, the world’s first way to safely receive zero-confirm Bitcoin transactions with a full financial guarantee.

BitGo Instant is launching with a strong list of initial partners recognizing these transactions, including Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Kraken, CoinHako, FoldApp, Genesis Trading, Shapeshift, Korbit, Unocoin, and SFOX.

“Instant deposits to ShapeShift adds significantly to our user experience. BitGo Instant enables this without risk to ShapeShift or the user. I expect other wallets to follow their lead.”

A typical Bitcoin transaction takes about ten minutes to be recorded in a block by miners, also known as receiving a single “confirmation.” Bitcoin transactions which have not yet been included in a block are known as “zero-confirm” transactions. It is unsafe to rely on these transactions because it is possible for the sender to spend the money elsewhere before the transaction is confirmed. For this reason, most Bitcoin businesses require multiple confirmations to credit a customer’s account. Unfortunately, due to the slow and unpredictable rate of block creation by miners, this results in customers experiencing wait times on deposits ranging from 30 minutes to multiple hours.

“BitGo Instant is an elegant solution that lets users send bitcoin quickly and easily. Many Bitcoin businesses would love to be able to accept zero-confirm transactions, but it’s been too risky to consider until now. We’re excited to be supporting this much-needed innovation from day one.”
- Nejc Kodrič, CEO of Bitstamp

Time is money. In the volatile Bitcoin market, a delay in moving funds to an exchange can mean the loss of thousands of dollars on a large transaction. Partners have agreed to give customers using a BitGo Instant transaction immediate credit, giving the customer the ability to trade almost instantly. BitGo Instant means traders no longer have to pre-position bitcoin funds at exchanges they intend to trade on, since funds held in any Instant-capable BitGo wallet can be moved in seconds to the exchange with the best price.

“We look forward to working with BitGo and BitGo Instant partners to provide our clients with instant bitcoin settlement. Cross-exchange spreads will likely come down, improving the efficiency of bitcoin markets around the globe. Moreover, merchants or merchant processors who join the network will be able to instantly convert bitcoin they collect from customers, eliminating bitcoin price risk.”
- Jesse Powell, CEO, Kraken

By co-signing a BitGo Instant transaction, BitGo issues a cryptographically signed guarantee on the transaction. The recipient of a BitGo Instant transaction can rest assured that in the event that the transaction is not ultimately confirmed in the blockchain, they can file a claim and will be compensated in full by BitGo.

“Instant deposits to ShapeShift adds significantly to our user experience. BitGo Instant enables this without risk to ShapeShift or the user. I expect other wallets to follow their lead.”
- Erik Voorhees, CEO, Shapeshift

BitGo Instant is fully open-access. Anyone using a BitGo Instant-capable wallet may send BitGo Instant transactions. Any business, whether using a BitGo wallet or not, may use BitGo’s API to safely receive BitGo Instant transactions.

ABOUT BITGO, INC.

BitGo is the leader in Bitcoin security and a pioneer of multi-signature technology. The company offers BitGo Enterprise, an enterprise-grade, multi-sig, multi-user Bitcoin wallet, and BitGo Platform API, a robust set of tools and services to access the underlying platform. BitGo recently announced handling of $1 billion of Bitcoin transactions per quarter. The company was founded by veterans in online security, digital currency, and financial technology, and has raised more than $14 million in financing to date.

Learn more at http://www.bitgo.com/