“Investing in stocks can be a daunting, complex and decidedly exclusionary activity,” says Bill Barhydt[1], Abra's CEO. To that end, his company’s mobile cryptocurrency wallet app has announced a new feature[2] which will allow investors to purchase traditional stocks using bitcoin. The new feature is built into the existing Abra app that enables users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies[3].
Crypto investors in the 155 countries where Abra has its presence will be able to invest in traditional stocks, such as Apple or Amazon, as well as in exchange traded funds (ETFs), using both cryptocurrencies and fiat directly from their mobile app.
According to Barhydt, everyone should have access to capital markets, regardless of where they live in the world or the amount of capital they have at their disposal. This is where Bitcoin comes in.
The world's most popular cryptocurrency has shown its capacity to serve as a democratic form of money by creating an open financial system, and he believes his company's app could change how smaller investors access publicly traded companies and other securities.
"We are building Bitcoin-backed investing products because, for the first time, we can truly democratize access to investment opportunities at global scale. It shouldn’t matter where you live or how much you earn to be able to make investments and participate in capital markets. We’re excited to allow anyone to start investing in global equity products and take control over their savings.”
Cryptocurrency exchanges have been offering features that allow traders to do more than buy and sell crypto of late. Last year, social trading platform[4] eToro launched a mobile trading app that will enable investors to invest in fiat currencies, stocks and cryptocurrencies.
"Abra is different by offering this on a
