Coinsetter

Coinsetter was a New York City-based bitcoin exchange founded in 2012, positioning itself as a high-performance trading platform tailored for professional traders, financial institutions, and businesses. The company was established by Jaron Lukasiewicz, who served as CEO, and co-founder Yo Sub Kwon. Lukasiewicz leveraged his extensive background in high finance, which included roles in private equity at The CapStreet Group and investment banking at J.P. Morgan, to build a platform that aimed to bring institutional-grade features to the nascent cryptocurrency market. Having co-founded an online ticketing platform prior to this, he became passionate about Bitcoin's potential in 2012 and launched Coinsetter to create a trustworthy exchange.

The firm's business was centered on providing a robust and secure environment for cryptocurrency trading. It catered to both institutional and individual clients, with a particular focus on the North American market. Revenue was generated through trading fees, following a maker-taker model with fees ranging from 0% to 0.26%. The platform distinguished itself by offering advanced trading features not commonly available on other US-based exchanges at the time. These included leveraged trading of up to 5:1, margin accounts, interest-free margin up to a certain limit, and the ability to short bitcoin. Coinsetter also introduced post-trade settlement for select business customers, allowing them to trade before depositing funds, a model similar to traditional Wall Street exchanges.

A significant milestone in the company's history was its acquisition of Cavirtex, a prominent Canadian bitcoin exchange, in 2015, which expanded its footprint in North America. Throughout its operation, Coinsetter navigated the challenging regulatory landscape in New York, working towards obtaining necessary money transmission licenses to ensure compliance. The company's journey culminated in January 2016 when it, along with Cavirtex, was acquired by the major global digital asset exchange, Kraken. This acquisition was part of Kraken's strategy to expand its presence in North American markets, and all Coinsetter client accounts were subsequently migrated to the Kraken platform.

Keywords: Coinsetter, Jaron Lukasiewicz, Kraken acquisition, bitcoin exchange, cryptocurrency trading platform, professional traders, institutional crypto, leveraged bitcoin trading, margin trading, Cavirtex, New York bitcoin exchange, digital asset exchange, high-performance trading, bitcoin liquidity, post-trade settlement, financial technology, crypto finance, Wall Street bitcoin, North American exchange, digital currency, bitcoin derivatives, crypto compliance, secure crypto trading