In Nov. 2017, Fidelium, a US-based project with South Korean roots, signed a contract with a major debit card provider to allow cryptocurrency owners to make payments practically anywhere, as well as to withdraw cash at affiliated ATMs. As the project team reported to Cointelegraph, the debit card will be integrated with the Fidelium’s Multiwallet app, which provides users with access to various exchanges from around the globe.

“Almighty” debit cards

Issuing debit cards for traders is not a regular procedure for online cryptocurrency exchanges. Although Fidelium is not a cryptocurrency exchange, the project includes a cross-exchange trading platform called Fortress that works more like an aggregator. Users can access any supported cryptocurrency exchange via the platform by undergoing a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure.

In addition, Fidelium is developing the Multiwallet app to allow users to manage Fidelium tokens (FID tokens), Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other supported cryptocurrencies as well.

A user with the app installed on their phone will be able to apply for Fidelium prepaid debit cards, giving them the option of withdrawing cash at affiliated ATMs and use the debit card to make purchases at stores. A card holder will be able to select any of the supported coins for payments.

“By partnering up with a payment processor, we aim to enable quick and convenient cryptocurrency spending, anywhere in the world, without any special restrictions or waiting time” claims the project website.

Building the Fortress

In Nov. 2017, the project started developing Fortress, a cross-exchange trading platform. "The first problem we want to address is the price difference caused by lack of liquidity" says the white paper.

According to the paper, in late 2017 the price difference in various regions was particularly noticeable for Bitcoin after it broke the $10,000 mark. "At one point, Bitcoin was trading around $15,000 in the U.S. At the same time, it was around 20 mln Korean Won - roughly $18,500. That is $3,500, or 23 percent difference".

The main problem is that a trader is not able to switch between exchanges easily. Receiving an account at different exchanges leads to complicated and rigorous verifications at each exchange, which can involve uploading a picture of an identification card, providing a proof of residence and verifying mobile phone number and email address.

Aiming to offer a way to improve such circumstances, the Fortress online trading system will provide access to different exchanges within a single platform. A user will be able to compare coin prices at different exchanges and determine which exchange offers the best price.

Upcoming features

The project team also reported to Cointelegraph about upcoming developments in the future of the platform. “We will also have a Fortress professional version, which is a premium version of the platform down the road. It will give users more detailed charting options and abundant resources, such as technical indicators to help further trading decisions”.

The team has also announced automated trading based on programmed trading algorithms as an upcoming feature, although extra details are not revealed yet. They also plan to add stocks, options, and futures trading to the platform in the futures as well.

Fidelium also aims to add Asian and European exchanges to Fortress in 2019.

On Jan. 12 Fidelium started its public pre-sale, and a month later, on Feb. 28, the startup launched its main crowdfunding campaign. The initial coin offering (ICO) finished on March 11. However, their bounty program is still running for written content and YouTube videos, and the participants of the Fidelium bounty program will receive their participation rewards in the form of FID tokens.