In brief
- Oobit helps users find cheap Bitcoin.
- It does this by searching on different platforms for the cheapest price.
- Users don’t have to sign into exchanges each time.
We do the research, you get the alpha!
Singaporean crypto company Oobit yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence feature that connects buyers with the cheapest Bitcoin it can find. The system searches across different platforms, which include exchanges and peer-to-peer desks, and scans for the lowest prices.
The company claims that it is to cryptocurrency what Skyscanner is to flights: plug in your desired coin, and Oobit Hunter, its new artificial intelligence system, will find the best price.
“The data is then intelligently computed together with known fee structures, location availability, market depth, immediacy, and many other factors to derive the best possible trading opportunity as per our recommendation,” Aharon Miller, CMO and co-founder, told Decrypt.
The new feature launches with support for 10 exchanges, including Kraken, Bitfinex, Binance, and Coinbase Pro. “Currently, we're rolling out Bitcoin in order to test our machine learning algorithms and make sure everything is in order. In time to come, with more data available and as we do further testing, we'll add more currencies,” said Miller.
The service works in tandem with another new feature, called Oobit Pass, which lets users buy crypto without signing into exchanges each time. Miller said that the feature is designed with compliance in mind, and without sacrificing security—log-in data is never stored on Oobit, but locally encrypted on the user’s device.
Oobit first launched as a niche peer-to-peer desk in 2017, but “stumbled upon many difficulties,” a spokesperson for Oobit told Decrypt. With the new features, the company is looking to broaden its appeal. Miller said that Oobit also has plans to launch a “pro” version for institutional traders, he added, since the current platform only “covers the needs of crypto newbies and day-to-day traders.”
But Oobit, which recently raised $1 million and is seeking more funding (all from undisclosed investors), lacks one thing its competitors have in fistfuls: money.
Ziglu, an upcoming British challenger bank, and Huobi, a crypto exchange that’s based in Singapore (after it got chased out of China), use their immense wealth to pose as power-users on crypto exchanges and OTC desks. This bags them large discounts on crypto, which they then pass on to the user.
Dwarfed by the wherewithal of its rivals, Oobit is instead looking for cooperation. “Our Oobit Hunter recommendation mechanism would work wonders for Ziglu, because an enterprise/institutional volume purchaser would come to Oobit, key in their intended trade volumes [or] requirements, and we'll immediately be able to recommend Ziglu's offerings to them,” said Miller. He added that Oobit is “in talks with Huobi,” but did not disclose details.