Last week, Ulli Spankowski, CEO of BISON, shared an in-depth video interview. In it, he comments on several topics that we know many of our users are interested in: The general situation at BISON, emerging cryptocurrencies, new features, and much more.
Given that this video is only available in German, we’ve decided to use this blog to summarize its key takeaways and information in English. We truly hope that you’ll find some of this information useful and wish you all the best in your crypto-endeavors!
BISON CEO, Dr. Ulli Spankowski, responds to the most frequently asked questions posed by BISON supporters in a video interview with moderator Richard “Richy” Dittrich from the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.
You may have been wondering what was going on with video verification at the turn of the year – well, BISON currently has almost 400,000 active users. We’re delighted that the product has been so well received and that our users are enjoying it. However, this increase in popularity led to a bit of a problem in terms of growth at BISON. The crypto boom caused a demand for verification services that was significantly higher than the capacity available through our service provider. BISON tried to increase its own capacities and buy from other service providers, but this, unfortunately, did not work. These problems have now been resolved and BISON supporters can, again, verify themselves as usual, without having to wait.
Users frequently ask about new cryptocurrencies. We, of course, are constantly monitoring the market and observing the altcoins we find interesting. When selecting new cryptocurrencies for our platform, it’s essential that we look at, among other things, the legal, technical, and fiscal aspects. Specifically: What does the protocol look like, who is behind the cryptocurrency, what requirements does BISON have to meet, etc.? In the interview, Ulli Spankowski reveals the names of upcoming cryptocurrencies, but no date for when they will be added to the app. The top of our current list includes: Lumens Stellar, EOS, Dash, and Polkadot.
Additional features are also under development in the app. BISON’s mission is to make buying and selling cryptocurrencies as easy as possible, and we’re taking an iterative approach to make that happen – that is, we’re carefully taking things one step at a time. A limit order is next on our agenda. This feature is already well into development and is expected to go live in three to four months. We also have a savings plan on our roadmap. Unlike with limit orders, BISON itself is not able to influence all the necessary steps involved in a savings plan. There are other parties involved, making the process more complex. For example, to fulfill an order, it must be ensured that the relevant account is appropriately funded. For this reason, Ulli Spankowski doesn’t hint at a timeframe for the project.
How secure are cryptocurrencies with BISON? Cryptocurrencies are an exciting investment opportunity that BISON wants to make available to everyone. The BISON app is characterized by simplicity and the idea behind it is to lower the barrier of entry into the crypto ecosystem for the general public. Users can place their cryptocurrencies in safekeeping with BISON, which we have of course designed to be as secure as possible. This is why our security concept consists of various levels: There is a “hot area” that users can access directly, a “warm area” that is secured and not necessarily connected to the Internet, and an “ice-cold vault” that cannot be accessed. Our safekeeping processes have also been certified by external experts.
The time it takes to make a deposit or withdrawal is often subject to criticism. BISON relies on the blockchain’s speed when it comes to the duration of a deposit; this is not something BISON can control. This means that customers themselves – or their service providers – are often responsible for deposits taking a very long time. When cryptocurrencies are transferred on the blockchain, a “gas price” is set for each transaction. At certain points in time, blockchain protocols become particularly busy and, if your transaction has a low gas price set, you may have to wait in line behind transactions with a high gas price before yours even has a chance to be processed.
BISON has deliberately built in a delay of 24 hours for withdrawals. This is to help avoid transaction errors that cannot be reversed later on. The delay gives you another 24 hours to check your entries so that, in the case of an emergency, you can try to stop the transaction. BISON also has to comply with legal guidelines regarding money laundering, etc. Hence, if a certain amount is exceeded, the transaction will have to undergo a verification process, which is partially done manually.
