How does creating a cryptocurrency exchange look like? What are crucial moments in running a business? And how does the current situation of Bitcoin presents on the market? Grzem – founder of Cryptox exchange – gives as all the answers.
Cryptox was launched in November 2016. Was the decision about launching it consequence of your previous activity on the market? Have you been a trader or have you dealt with cryptocurrencies in any different way?
I started to think about creating my own exchange 4 years before launching Cryptox. More precisely, I came up with an idea when US exchange Cryptsy was expanding on the market. It wasn’t a big inspiration for me or anything like that, but its beginning coincided with my plans about creating similar service. Only one thing held me back from realizing my plans: I wasn’t a developer. Although at that time I have been working as an IT analyst in some Warsaw corporations, I didn’t have enough programming knowledge. On the other hand, I couldn’t afford to hire programmers from the outside. Especially, that it would mean for a team of several people one year of work, which I would have to finance from my own pocket.
However, there were ready-made solutions on the market but they were incomplete and couldn’t satisfy me. What is important, even back then I was clearly aware of fact, that I’m not interested in creating a service, which would provide exchange of cryptocurrencies for the traditional ones. For me, the only model that made sense, was the one which would exchange Bitcoin for another cryptocurrency.
This is an interesting thread, so let’s pause for a moment. What was the reason for this approach? Observing the market and discovering attractive niche on it?
No. Crypto-crypto exchange simply gives you an opportunity for reliable arbitration. If we are transferring our resources for traditional financial market it means, firstly – paying a provision, secondly it means a lot of tax trouble alongside with stability of existing financial institutions. Personally, I give more trust to cryptocurrencies than bank accounts. And I’m in that group of people who claim that scattering of the traditional system is just a matter of time.
What was the breakthrough moment in pursuit of your idea?
Definitely purchase of code and software from the owner of Bitmaszyna, with whom I have been negotiating for two years. Software we are using now is a twin to the Bitmaszyna`s. At the beginning I even had an idea to just take responsibility for already existing on Bitmaszyna crypto-crypto markets, but the owner wasn’t interested in this solution. Final agreement between us, concerning business transaction, took place couple of months before launching Cryptox, that is around May 2016.
How many people have been working on preparing Cryptox for a market debut?
Me, programmer from Bitmaszyna and a person who had contacts with great polish server room, on which I had put my service anyway. In this team I was somewhere in the middle, i.e. I had been a tester and at the same time I have been using my experience in writing specifications. Besides, even nowadays I’m a tester and I’m acting as a helpdesk. Single-person management seems to be working out.
Before buying a software, you were probably wanting to somehow assess potential profitability of exchange. Did you have a business plan?
No. I have decided to take a risk and invest a lot of my own money. I had been aware of the fact, that at the beginning, revenues wouldn’t be impressing. But I was able to afford taking such risk due to approach that I have developed, which was guiding me from the start. Namely, I didn’t have an ambition to create big and serious business. Very basic assessment of profitability was made only for the need of possible cooperation with partner, who hadn’t decided for cooperation anyway. I was investing my own sources, which I derived from my activity as a trader. This is why I have allowed thoughts about loss, but loss without regret. Such attitude – without making serious plans and serious analysis – is still precious to me. I have no idea what Cryptox will look like in five years, I don’t have any high expectations about it. I had and still have enough work to be done according to strictly defined plans, because I had experienced it during my several years of working in a corporation. Cryptox was meant to give me a freedom. If something happened and business stopped to be profitable, I would not have to carry it on.
For full interview visit bithub.pl/english