Ireland’s first bitcoin ATM operator BitVendo has teamed up with Merrion Vaults – a Dublin-based safe deposit box facility – to offer an “ultra-secure” bitcoin cold storage service.

BitVendo is planning to offer three different cold storage packages, starting at €70 per year. The entry-level tier is designed for consumers with less than €5,000 worth of bitcoin holdings.

The company told CoinDesk:

“Our top package works off 2% of the insured bitcoin holdings. It comes with encrypted phone support, express withdrawal service, private meeting rooms, anti-tiger kidnapping measures and some other cool features, like being able to withdraw your bitcoin straight into cash or gold which can be held inside Merrion Vaults on behalf of the customer.”

Customers will also be able to pick and choose various add-ons to meet different needs, the company added.

Doomsday-proof services

BitVendo is hoping to differentiate itself from the competition by offering more transparency and ingenuity at a lower price point.

The company explained that it likes the GoldMoney Group/Netagio approach that offers gold deposits on top of bitcoin cold storage. Since Merrion Vaults already stores gold in its vaults, BitVendo says it can easily offer a similar service.

The biggest differentiator is security. BitVendo offers video-call verification, encrypted phone support, custom encrypted hard drives and bitcoin storage in multiple safe deposit boxes using three different methods.

BitVendo explained:

“Every possible scenario such as tiger-kidnapping to nuclear strikes and EMP blasts has been accounted for. In the event that all our staff die, clients can expect to receive their coins back inside of 14 days, and we do apologize for that delay in advance.”

This may sound like overkill (quite literally), but BitVendo wants its clients to sleep easy and know for a fact that their bitcoins are truly safe.

Lloyds of London is currently reviewing the two firms’ bitcoin storage practices and BitVendo said it has already received positive feedback.

Lloyds already offers €10,000 in complementary insurance on all gold holdings at Merrion Vaults and the bitcoin insurance policy will be made available as soon as it is approved. BitVendo insisted that its customers won’t ever need insurance, however.

The company says its new bitcoin storage service is scheduled to go live on 1st May and all relevant updates will be made available via BitVendo’s twitter feed.

Bitcoin debit cards

When asked whether it sees a competitive threat in the form of bitcoin-funded debit cards, BitVendo told us that it “loves” the new cards:

“Anything ‘new’ with bitcoin is always a good thing, it shows the media and regulators that a lot of innovation is going into bitcoin and that the future is very bright. Debit cards are an important part of the future altcoin infrastructure.”

The company acknowledged that the bitcoin industry is constantly evolving and that every new service that fills a void is welcome.

About the companies

Merrion Vaults is Ireland’s only purpose-built independent deposit box facility, offering safe deposit boxes from €199 per year. All boxes are located in Dublin and are individually insured by Lloyds of London to the tune of €10,000.

BitVendo is Ireland’s first bitcoin ATM provider. It currently operates a single Lamassu ATM on Upper Abbey Street, Dublin.

BitVendo’s mission statement is simple: the company wants to make bitcoin more accessible to people and it wants to start by simplifying the process of buying bitcoins.

That’s where the ATMs come into play, as BitVendo maintains that personal wire transfers to traditional bitcoin exchanges are simply too cumbersome and slow for many consumers.

Safety deposit boxes image via Shutterstock