Btc.sx

Btc.sx, established in 2013, was a pioneering platform in the cryptocurrency derivatives market, headquartered in London's Silicon Roundabout. The company was founded by Joe Lee, George Samman, and Vincent Hoong. Lee, the CEO, had a background as a Regulatory Reporting Technical Developer at Macquarie Group and previously worked at Barclays Bank. His interest in Bitcoin began in 2011, leading him to develop trading bots that reportedly handled a significant portion of early market volume and whose profits, alongside $150,000 of his own savings, were used to start Btc.sx.

The company provided an FX-style trading platform that allowed users to speculate on Bitcoin's price movements by taking long or short positions with leverage. A key feature of the platform was that it operated entirely in Bitcoin, meaning clients could open positions with a Bitcoin deposit and did not need to use fiat currencies like USD. This model served retail traders interested in digital currency derivatives. The platform's revenue was generated from fees on trades. Btc.sx formed partnerships with several exchanges, including Mt. Gox, and later Bitstamp, itBit, and Bitfinex, to place its orders and enhance liquidity for its users. Despite facing service disruptions and undisclosed losses from the Mt. Gox collapse, the company recovered and, by March 2014, had brokered over $40 million in transactions.

In June 2015, Btc.sx rebranded to Magnr and expanded its services to include the world's first blockchain-based Bitcoin savings accounts. This new model operated on two fronts: trading and saving. The interest paid to savers was generated from the interest paid by traders using the leveraged trading platform. Following the rebrand, Joe Lee transitioned to the role of Chief Innovation Officer, with Colin Kwan, formerly of UBS and Deutsche Bank, taking over as CEO. Magnr continued to operate until 2018, when it closed its trading and savings operations, having facilitated over $250 million in transactions and ensuring all client funds were returned. The company later transitioned into a private investment fund based in Asia.

Keywords: Btc.sx, Magnr, Joe Lee, Bitcoin derivatives, leveraged Bitcoin trading, cryptocurrency trading platform, Bitcoin savings accounts, crypto financial services, digital currency derivatives, Colin Kwan, George Samman, Seedcoin, Bitcoin-only trading, margin trading, crypto brokerage, London fintech, Silicon Roundabout, Bitstamp partner, Bitfinex partner, blockchain savings