It can be easy for seasoned crypto enthusiasts to fall so deep into the rabbit hole of technology, trading, and general jargon that they forget the industry is still relatively young. In its evolving state, the crypto sector also still lacks some of the core functionality that we now take for granted in other areas.
Furthermore, it’s become quite fragmented, with users having to navigate multiple exchanges and information sources to make decisions about buying, selling, or spending cryptocurrencies.
Oobit aims to overcome this complexity with a single gateway providing cryptocurrency users of all levels with access to a range of services designed to make life easier.
In this guide, we will provide an overview of Oobit, including:
- Problems Oobit Aims to Solve
- Features of the Platform
- Upcoming Developments
- History and Team
- Oobit Token (Coming Soon)
Problems Oobit Aims to Solve
These days, if you want to book a flight, the chances are you’ll use a comparison aggregator such as Skyscanner or Google Flights. The same kind of service is available for many other products, such as insurance, real estate, or hotels. However, if you want to buy crypto safe in the knowledge that you’re getting the best price, then you’ll have to check this yourself by looking across different exchange websites.
Which, of course, is wildly inefficient and unlikely to yield any success in the end. Liquid exchanges will have an order book that’s always moving, meaning that by the time you’ve found your “best price,” it will have changed anyway. Moreover, the price you see isn’t necessarily the price you get, once fees are factored in.
That’s far from the only inefficiency in the crypto ecosystem. If you do want to trade using multiple exchanges, then you’ll have to go through numerous KYC checks and verification procedures on every single platform you wish to use. The verification process can take days in some cases, meaning you could be missing out on lucrative trading opportunities while you wait.
Features of the Oobit Platform
Oobit offers multiple features designed to solve these problems. It also provides other services that are aimed at making it easier for everyone to navigate through the crypto world.
Oobit Hunter
Oobit Hunter uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to introduce the Skyscanner functionality to the crypto space. It’s a search feature that allows the user to browse prices across cryptocurrency exchanges, but also to find prices for P2P transactions, similar to LocalBitcoins. Users can search by location to find sellers in their area, and they can also apply filters to search by criteria such as the seller rating or exchange fees. The algorithm can drill through the various user preferences to recommend the best trading opportunity for the user’s circumstances.
Like LocalBitcoins, Oobit will hold funds in escrow until the sale parties conclude their transaction.
The Hunter feature is useful for crypto traders of all levels. For newcomers, it can help them to make an informed decision about which exchange to use. However, even more experienced traders can use the tool if they’re seeking to profit from price arbitrage between different exchanges.
Oobit Pass
Oobit Pass offers a one-time verification so that users don’t have to complete KYC checks each time they want to use a new exchange. The idea is that you will go through a full verification using Oobit Pass, and then when you create an account with a participating exchange, you simply provide your Oobit credentials. The exchange will then auto-verify you based on what you’ve already submitted to Oobit, allowing you to start trading immediately.
Not only does this feature make life easier for crypto users, but it also means that exchanges don’t have to wear the costs and data protection considerations of undertaking KYC checks themselves. Ultimately, it could make an exchange more attractive to new users if they know they can start trading without waiting hours or days to get verified.
Oobit uses military-grade encryption to protect user identity data. It also uses advanced face and optical character recognition to make the verification process as speedy as possible.
Oobit Direct
Oobit Direct is a straightforward and low-cost way of buying Bitcoin with a credit or debit card. Transactions are typically settled quickly, with around 10-30 minutes wait. Payment options include Visa, Mastercard, or Moonpay.
OobitxMap
The OobitxMap feature allows users to visualize the physical cryptocurrency ecosystem around their location. Users can search the map for cryptocurrency ATMs, for merchants who accept crypto, or for P2P buyers or sellers.
Oobit Wallet
Oobit has developed its own cryptocurrency wallet, for which it has partnered with Coinbase to offer customers a guarantee of security with Coinbase’s industry-leading custody account. Currently the wallet supports BTC, with more cryptocurrencies to be added in the future.
Upcoming Developments
Along with adding support for more cryptocurrencies to its existing suite of services, Oobit also has new features coming soon.
Oobit Pay
One challenge that continues to plague the crypto space is that users cannot easily liquidate their digital assets into cash without going via an exchange. Oobit Pay will provide users with a pre-paid debit card that they can load with crypto, and spend as cash. It will offer low fees and fast worldwide delivery of the physical card.
Oobit C2C
The C2C feature will allow users to convert 150 different digital assets directly, with direct deposit to their wallet. Oobit will search for the best possible exchange rate on the market, meaning users are assured they’re always getting the best deal.
History and Team
Oobit started out in 2017 intending to become a user-friendly, community-driven P2P trading environment. However, the vision evolved into identifying sources of liquidity across trading venues globally, enhancing transparency and trust across the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The Oobit platform, with its various features, allows traders to give full freedom and flexibility in how they buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
The chairman of Oobit is Moshe Schlisser, who has been active in the venture capital and private equity spaces for the past decade. He is the co-founder of venture fund Shefa Capital, and prior to that, he served as a managing partner of Iberica Investments, a VC & PE investment holding firm. He currently serves on the board of directors of various publicly traded and private technology-related companies.
Amram Adar is the CEO and co-founder. Before Oobit, Adar managed development and design teams in Wacetech Investments Ltd, and he also has five years of experience in marketing.
Aharon Miller is the CMO and co-founder, bringing seven years of digital marketing experience. Previously, Miller has built and led teams responsible for development, business analytics, internal applications, and data pipelines.
Oobit has partnered with Coinbase, which provides custodial services for all Oobit accounts and wallets. The company is also working on other high-profile partnerships, which will be announced in due course.
Oobit Token (Coming Soon)
Oobit is working on the launch of its Oobit token (OBT.) OBT tokens are incentives given by beneficiaries of the Oobit ecosystem to users who perform crypto-related actions. These may include activities such as submitting an Oobit Pass to exchanges, following up an Oobit Hunter search with a trade, or participating in a transaction via Oobit xMap.
OBT also has staking and consumption utilities that will be used by merchants, businesses, exchanges, and more to access various resources in the Oobit ecosystem.
OBT will be pre-minted to a fixed supply. Furthermore, the circulating supply will gradually reduce over time as the token is awarded to users, thereby encouraging more people to participate in the ecosystem.
Conclusion
Despite the clear progress made in maturing the cryptocurrency space over the years, there are still many barriers to entry for newcomers, and plenty of friction even for experienced users. Interoperability between platforms is a significant area of focus for core developers in 2020.
Oobit is attempting to close a similar gap between exchanges, and so has a great opportunity to fill several unmet needs for cryptocurrency traders. Ultimately, the platform’s success will depend on the extent to which it can onboard users, exchanges, and merchants. If it succeeds in this regard, it has every chance of becoming the gateway of choice for anyone looking to buy and sell digital assets.
