Magnr

Magnr was a UK-based financial services company specializing in Bitcoin, which operated from 2013 before closing its public-facing services in 2018. Originally launched as BTC.sx, it pioneered leveraged Bitcoin trading, allowing users to take long and short positions on future price movements. The company was founded in London by a team that included Joe Lee and Colin Kwan, who brought experience from the investment banking sector at institutions like Barclays, Macquarie Group, Deutsche Bank, and UBS.

In 2015, BTC.sx rebranded to Magnr and introduced an industry-first: interest-bearing savings accounts for Bitcoin. The business model was designed so that interest paid to savers was generated from the fees paid by traders using the platform's leveraged trading services. This allowed depositors to earn a return on their idle Bitcoin, with Magnr using the blockchain's public ledger to transparently calculate and verify deposits and interest payments. The platform acted as an exchange aggregator, enabling trading across major exchanges like Bitstamp, itBit, and Bitfinex through a single interface.

The company's history is marked by its resilience, notably surviving the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange in 2014 by quickly establishing new partnerships and ensuring no clients lost funds due to the event. Throughout its operation, Magnr facilitated over $250 million in transactions. In 2018, Magnr closed its trading and savings operations, ensuring all client funds were returned. Following this, the entity transitioned into a private investment fund based in Asia, focusing on early-stage projects.

Keywords: Bitcoin trading, cryptocurrency savings, leveraged crypto trading, BTC.sx, digital currency financial services, blockchain savings account, Bitcoin interest, crypto exchange aggregator, Joe Lee, Colin Kwan, FinTech, digital currency wealth management, Bitcoin futures, crypto investment platform, closed crypto platform