Coinfloor, a London-based bitcoin exchange bidding to build a market for high-frequency trading in the virtual currency, has opened its doors.

Having secured investment from Passion Capital and Transferwise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, the exchange is opening for registration today, with trading set to begin next week.



Founded by serial entrepreneurs Mark Lamb and Amadeo Pellicce, the exchange lets users buy and sell bitcoins in Europe. The site is aiming not just at bitcoin enthusiasts but also professional traders, promising "world class strategy centres" and "sophisticated charting packages". In addition, a sophisticated algorithmic rounding engine for fee calculation is designed to attract high-frequency traders.



Passion Capital partner Stefan Glaenzer told CoinDesk that the exchange is ready to launch having secured several bank accounts, a feat that has proved beyond other players in the bitcoin market.



The start-up is also stressing its commitment to security and regulatory compliance. Traders are required to use two factor authentication, while all bitcoin are stored offline in secure storage systems to thwart cyber-thieves.



Meanwhile, Coinfloor is fully compliant with ISO27001 and has registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering but has been told by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority that there are no plans to regulate bitcoin.



In contrast, the site is closed to US-based customers because of the regulatory environment which requires exchanges to register with the US Treasury and get state money transmission licenses.



Says CEO Lamb: "From the start, we've been committed to building and operating Coinfloor as a fully-compliant and professional financial services company and we look forward to helping to establish Bitcoin as a mass market asset."