NewsBTC.com recently got an opportunity to speak with the chief communication officer (CCO) of BitCurex, Mr. Filip Godecki. As he spoke enthusiastically about their Bitcoin trading platform, the representative also gave insightful information on the regulatory climate in Poland regarding the virtual currency businesses. Here are some excerpts from our conversation:
Q: What is the history of Bitcurex?
We have been interested in business innovations for years. In 2012 it was a problem to trade BTC in Poland, a problem that we wanted to solve – previous services had been shut down because of technical issues or fear of the unregulated law in Poland. We made a decision to gather a team of experts and create the first fully professional BTC exchange service in the country. For the first 9 months our service operated pro bono. Even our users finally suggested introducing fees to make our service really take off (laugh). And then it all started…
How does Polish government view Bitcoin on whole?
I would describe the stance taken by the Polish government as neutral, waiting for the decision made on the level of the European Union is apparent. In this context, we were glad to hear the opinion of the general spokesman of the EU regarding the VAT exemption of BTC, which is crucial to entities and persons wanting to accept payments in Bitcoins. It is a chance for BTC to perform its basic payment function in the future. Such signal from the European Court of Justice confirms the general positive attitude – as seen in the Great Britain – in the EU. We are waiting for the official decision of our tax authorities.
And banks?
Banks are looking at the project from a certain distance, waiting for what comes next. A big part of the banking sector in Poland is occupied by branches of foreign banks, so it is difficult to talk about big differences in comparison to other EU countries. Hence, as everywhere, we have some better and some worse banks, and some mediocre ones. To generalize – there is probably some room for improvement in customer service.
What do you think are the biggest challenges to Bitcoin in Poland?
The same as everywhere else: building a stable infrastructure and simplification. Bitcoin should be, most importantly, a quick, user-friendly and free means of payment, not only speculation.
Where do you think Bitcoin’s price will go in next three years?
I’m not a big fan of such predictions, as for me the price is not so important as popularity and, moreover, usability of Bitcoin. To be really big, Bitcoin still needs to find some solutions, mainly on a level which will make it easy accessible for a broad public. I believe that when – not if – it is done, it will generate a huge positive impact on the price.
How do you see altcoins?
Altcoins are great, as long as they can offer some interesting solutions and do not only copy previous coins, mainly Bitcoin, to be precise. That is why we strongly support Dash and we’ve opened a new platform, Dashcurex.com, a few weeks ago.
We believe Dash is a project with a very big potential, bringing many new solutions that can contribute to the development of the entire cryptocurrency community: i.e. The idea of masternodes, InstantX or full anonymity. We believe that it deserves publicity and support, also from exchange markets, without which popularizing this currency would be difficult. We think that a platform that puts Dash first can help in just that.
We made sure to make it easy for Bitcurex users to quickly and conveniently start using Dashcurex: the existing Bitcurex account can be exported to Dashcurex, keeping the same login, password and PIN. It is also possible to transfer traditional currencies between the two services in real time. The available currency pairs are DASH/USD, DASH/PLN and DASH/BTC.
NewsBTC thanks Mr. Godecki for his valuable time and hope BitCurex to provide a frictionless Bitcoin trading experience to all its customers.
