Starting out in cryptocurrency it took me quite some time before I knew how to register wallets, transfer funds and learned how to trade digital assets on an exchange. For someone that is new in crypto this new industry can get a bit overwhelming. Figuring out how exchanges work and how to transfer assets into wallets can take a lot of time to get familiarized with.

Various cryptocurrency projects have emerged that offer financial services to ease some of these processes. In this article I am comparing 4 businesses that all aim to disrupt the crypto financial service industry. Their common denominator is that they all have their own cryptocurrency utility token. In a random order these are the projects I will be comparing in this article: TAP, Revolut, Crypto.com and CoinManager.

TAP

TAP offers a solution that enables all crypto exchanges and fiat-to-crypto exchanges to be traded in one app. Their middleware solution brings an end to the multiple know your customer (KYC) verification processes people need to go through in order to become a verified asset exchange user. TAP will require only one KYC application. After a user is verified he/she can trade on all the exchanges that are available through the TAP app. Their website is in development, but pre-registrations for the app are open. TAP’s goal is to make crypto more accessible to a bigger audience. Their mission is to complete and fulfil every trade within 3 seconds even fiat/crypto and crypto/fiat trades. TAP will offer a mobile app, that will be available in the Google Playstore and the Apple iTunes Appstore.

TAP will provide users with a one-stop-shop solution to trading crypto, storing them safely in a wallet and provide the ability to trade in and out of crypto to local fiat currency. TAP offers hot wallet storage and top-grade security to keep customers funds safe at all times.

In the image below, you will see a sneak peek of the TAP app interface. It’s an overview of the internal Alpha release.

TAP Debit Card

To spend cryptocurrencies at major consumer outlets, TAP presents the TAP Card, which will be a debit card that offers:

– The ability to make a fiat purchase in every country with every cryptocurrency

– Fiat currency exchange rates that are based on inter-banking fees instead of expensive international bank charges

– Withdraw cash from any ATM at no additional fees

TAP ICO

TAP will soon launch its public sale. There is still time to register and participate in the sale. Further details and a project whitepaper will become available on short notice.

Revolut

Revolut is a UK based alternative to the traditional banking business. They have raised capital in various funding rounds after which they became a ‘Unicorn’ startup. Revolut aims to provide a multi-functional banking app which will drastically reduce the users’ transfer fees for both domestic as well as international transactions. Users can transact in 25 different fiat currencies as well as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum. Revolut will soon add new products to their platform, like the Revolut Card (a banking card) and Revolut Wealth (a trading platform that allows for trading of stocks, indices and ETFs). Recently Revolut applied for a European banking license and will apply for a U.S. banking license in the near future.

Crypto.com (formerly known as Monaco)

The project formerly known as Monaco, raised over 26 million U.S. dollars in their initial coin offering (ICO) in June of 2017. If you were at that time invested in cryptocurrency you probably noticed their large marketing campaign, surrounded by a bit of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). After the project’s launch, they had some ups and downs, mainly because it wasn’t easy getting a cryptocurrency-based debit or credit card approved worldwide. Some regions had more regulations than others which sometimes caused some issues.

Earlier this year Monaco did a surprise takeover of Crypto.com and included a full rebrand. Monaco officially rebranded to Crypto.com. Currently Crypto.com’s native utility token MCO has a total market capitalization of 75 million U.S. dollars (based on the circulating supply).

The Crypto.com platform includes applying for a VISA card that allows you to spend cryptocurrency anywhere across the world where VISA is an accepted payment method. There is a wallet app, a credit platform, an investment tool and it includes several other features.

Coinmanager According to South-Korea based investment firm #HASHED, CoinManager is the number one most used crypto wallet in Korea. The platform aims to provide a clean interface and direct API’s to accommodate both new as well as established cryptocurrency users. CoinManager offers insights into arbitrage opportunities, has a chatroom to share information with peers, gives out price alerts and has many other features. CoinManager’s Twitter account has a large time gap in tweets made by the company. After the 30th of January no tweets were posted until the 18th of September. Their Twitter follower base is also low with a total of 332 followers. In their company description they state they have 450,000 wallet downloads in Korea. Concluding remarks Disrupting the traditional banking business seems like a great idea. When planning to roll this out worldwide knowledge of regulation will be essential. Remittance fees that banks charge its customers tend to be really high, so companies offering low fees can be a real game changer. I think it is great to see new projects like TAP emerge. They are trying to do things different and take on existing traditional businesses. The projects in this article are all trying to change a system that is fundamentally flawed in my opinion. I believe in banking the unbanked, a cashless society and a world where the people are in control and not the management of big companies. I welcome these startups that want to make a difference. Will they all succeed? Probably not, but I hope they will accomplish their business ideas.