Beginners Guide to Oobit – The “SkyScanner” of Cryptocurrency
As the cryptocurrency industry has matured, we’ve seen many positive developments happening in the sector. The growing markets for crypto-backed derivatives, opportunities for passive income through lending apps and staking, and an explosion of stablecoins helping to offset the risks of volatility are just a few.
However, even with all this progress, there is still plenty of friction for the average Joe trying to navigate the crypto space.
For newcomers, in particular, it can seem particularly confusing to have to use one platform for converting to crypto from fiat, then get verified on a second platform so they can send funds to buy a particular altcoin.
Not only that, but users also have to decide between a multitude of exchanges, without any real transparency into which platform offers the best price. Spending crypto also continues to be a problem, because even now, not many merchants are willing to accept payment in such a volatile medium.
It’s this set of complex problems – and more – that Oobit is aiming to address with a multi-featured platform designed to act as a single gateway to the cryptocurrency space. Oobit’s vision is to make it fast, simple, and secure to buy, sell, and trade crypto.
History of Oobit
Oobit was started in 2017, with the initial goal of creating a peer-to-peer trading community where users could securely trade Bitcoins with one another, similar to LocalBitcoins. However, rather than limiting users to trading only with those in their location, Oobit wanted to become a global platform to connect those wishing to trade.
The company quickly realized that there was a bigger opportunity to unlock cryptocurrency liquidity pools across the entire ecosystem. Therefore, it expanded from the initial vision to create a web-based platform that aims to bring visibility and trust to participants in the cryptocurrency space.
Oobit partnered with Coinbase for the provision of secure custody services underpinning its accounts and wallets.
Features of Oobit
Each of Oobit’s features is designed to solve existing issues in the cryptocurrency sector, making it easier for traders to access liquidity.
Source: Oobit.com
Oobit Hunter
Oobit Hunter is the feature of the platform that introduces “Skyscanner” capabilities to the cryptocurrency space. Like Skyscanner, it means users can browse the prices of cryptocurrencies across different trading venues and P2P sellers. Therefore, traders can be sure they’re always getting the best price, particularly because Oobit also factors in the exchange fees, so the price you see on screen is the price you’ll pay.
Source: Oobit.com
Oobit Hunter also allows you to filter by criteria such as the exchange rate and seller rating. It uses an AI algorithm to ensure users receive a recommendation that best matches their individual circumstances and preference, including location, fees, and other factors.
Oobit P2P
Oobit P2P is the peer-to-peer marketplace section allowing users to search for cryptocurrency buyers and sellers anywhere in the world. It’s a comparable service to LocalBitcoins, except that Oobit P2P is integrated into the other features of the Oobit platform, such as Oobit Hunter, as described above.
When two traders agree to a particular transaction using Oobit P2P, the service will hold funds in escrow until the parties agree that they can be released to their counterparts.
Oobit Pass
Oobit Pass is a KYC verification service that allows users to complete KYC once, after which they can bypass doing multiple verifications each time they use a new exchange. The user will simply provide their Oobit Pass credentials to the exchange, which will allow them to start trading immediately.
Oobit Pass is a complement to the Oobit Hunter service, as it means that users can simply find the price they want on Oobit Hunter and buy immediately, without the added friction of having to do another KYC verification. It uses military-grade encryption, along with OCR and facial recognition to make onboarding as fast as possible.
Oobit xMap
Oobit xMap creates a bridge between merchants and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Using the map, users can search for merchants accepting cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin ATMs, or local exchanges in their region. Firms wishing to accept payment in cryptocurrencies can leverage the xMap tool to do so by linking their wallet into the Oobit platform.
The xMap feature is also integrated with Oobit P2P so that users can search for crypto buyers or sellers in their location.
Source: Oobit.com
Oobit Wallet
The Oobit wallet provides a safe and secure means for Oobit users to store their BTC using Coinbase’s secure custodial platform. Although the front end is integrated into the Oobit ecosystem and operated by Oobit, the user’s funds are held securely with Coinbase meaning Oobit never takes custody of them.
Oobit plans to roll out support for more cryptocurrencies for the wallet feature very soon.
Oobit Direct
Oobit Direct allows users to purchase cryptocurrency with a credit card. It’s a fast and easy way to onboard users to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Roadmap and Future Developments
Oobit is developing its platform to support more digital assets. It also plans to roll out new features over the coming months. One of these new features is Oobit Pay, which solves the issue of the cryptocurrency spend problem. Users can apply for an Oobit prepaid debit card, which they can charge up with crypto and then use it to buy everyday goods and services. The card will be low-commission and allow users to withdraw cash from ATMs around the world.
Source: Oobit.com
Another planned new service is Oobit C2C – a crypto-to-crypto service supporting 150 digital assets and leveraging the Hunter feature to make sure users always get the best rates.
OBT Token
The OBT token isn’t yet live but is also planned as part of the roadmap. Rather than act as an access token for the Oobit platform, the OBT token is designed to act as an incentive to draw users in.
Oobit aims to create an alliance of cryptocurrency ecosystem participants, such as exchanges and merchants. The concept of the OBT token is that these participants will provide rewards to users in the form of OBT tokens when they take particular actions on the Oobit platform. This might include making a cryptocurrency purchase from Oobit Hunter, or buying goods from a merchant and paying with crypto.
To ensure the token retains its value, Oobit will only mint a fixed supply. Once OBT tokens start being given to users as rewards, a diminishing circulating supply will help to drive value.
Oobit Team
The Oobit team combines experience in venture capital, marketing, trading, business development, and various technologies, including AI and data science.
Moshe Schlisser, Chairman, has been active in the venture capital and private equity space for the last ten years. He served as MD and managing partner on two investment funds before co-founding his own investment company, Shefa Capital. He currently serves on the board of directors of several technology firms.
Eric Song is Oobit’s Chief Strategist, with 20 years of experience in equities and futures trading.
CEO and co-founder Amram Adar, and CMO and co-founder Aharon Miller, bring 12 years of marketing experience between them, having both managed teams responsible for development, design, and business analytics.
Conclusion
While Oobit’s goals appear to be ambitious, the company is creating a platform where each component works to complement the others. This holistic approach means it has a strong chance of cross-fertilizing users interested in different parts of the platform. Ultimately, success will depend on gaining a sufficient critical mass of users and participants. If it can pull this off, there’s every chance that newcomers to the crypto space could have a smoother onboarding experience in the future.
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