SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merit, the world’s first invite-only cryptocurrency, today announced the launch of Merit Market, a peer-to-peer, community-validated, blockchain-verified crypto market that broadens access to an emerging coin for non-miners.

With a long list of crypto-hacks growing everyday and a reported $4 billion stolen from exchanges, a new secure model needs to take hold. Merit Market solves the problem with invite-only user access to the currency and by ensuring users retain control over their funds as opposed to holding them as a custodian. This approach thwarts prospective hackers before they start by ensuring that the Market is not in control of members’ funds.

An intuitive hybrid between a Craigslist-like community exchange and a financial marketplace, Merit Market is available immediately for non-tech elite users to interact, buy and sell within a trusted community. Users also have the convenience of near-instant transactions through Merit’s buy and sell-side escrow.

“Merit is striking down the complicated exchange model that bombards users with thousands of trading pairs and an intense power-user interface. More importantly, we’re avoiding very real risk and preserving the tenets of decentralization by NOT acting as the custodian of our users’ funds,” said Adil Wali, CEO and Founder of Merit. “By removing the need for a trusted third-party to hold your cryptocurrency, Merit enables users to take control of their finances.”

The Merit Market currently supports Bitcoin to Merit transactions and plans to expand support for both crypto and fiat currencies in the near-term. Supporting credit card transactions is a top priority in order to continue lowering the barrier to entry for nontechnical users and support Merit’s mission to make crypto accessible to everyone.

“Merit is finally democratizing a process that should have belonged to everyone to begin with,” said Wali.

About Merit

The Merit Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is focused on increasing the worldwide adoption of digital currency. The organization was built from the ground up with a priority on simplicity, usability and security. Merit’s cryptocurrency, MRT, is as easy to use as sending a tweet, and is claimable without wallets. With MRT, Merit is poised to finally bring cryptocurrency to the masses. An invitation only blockchain that is community-driven, transparent and highly secure, Merit grows with its users, and uses an innovative mining model to reward them accordingly. Merit is headquartered in Seattle and operates globally. Visit www.merit.me for more information.