Bitcoin Compliance Solutions Startup Vogogo Goes Public

Vogogo is now trading as a public company on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) under the ticker symbol 'VGO'.

Operated by TMX Group, a Canadian financial services company that oversees the Toronto Stock Exchange among other properties, the TSXV specializes in hosting small-cap stocks and provides early-stage companies the ability to raise funds from the capital markets.

Geoff Gordon, CEO of Vogogo – a Calgary-based payment processing, risk management and regulatory compliance platform – framed the move as a strategic decision that will provide the company with additional access to capital and the ability to execute acquisitions.

Gordon added:

"More importantly, it helps as far as our reputation with banking partners, our ability to secure new banking partners, our ability to provide a sense of comfort to regulators, which to us is all very important stuff when you want to make a big move in the crypto space."

The move follows the company's $8.5m funding round in August, and comes as Vogogo is looking to extend its compliance solution to digital currency startups.

Vogogo provides a solution that automates payment processing, regulatory compliance and risk management for cryptocurrency businesses, removing the need for them to build in-house systems.

Reaching out to investors

Apart from providing validation for Vogogo, the stock offering will also provide Canada's retail investors with new exposure to the digital currency industry.

Gordon said:

"I think there are a lot of people who would like to speculate on bitcoin and altcoins and cryptocoins in general, but they're looking for perhaps an interim way to do that. We're very much a great option in that regard."

Although the news marks the introduction of Vogogo to the Canadian stock market, legally the move reinstates the trading of shares on behalf of its previous legal entities. Earlier this May, Southtech Capital Corporation and Redfall Technologies amalgamated to form a new corporate entity, a move that formally dissolved both Southtech and Redfall.

Vogogo was originally a product introduced by Redfall Technologies in 2012, while Southtech Capital Corporation was a capital pool company.

Crypto goes public

With its arrival on the TSXV, Vogogo also becomes the latest bitcoin industry company to pursue access to the capital markets and the wider investing public.

Although Gordon indicated he is confident in the decision, other prominent public bitcoin companies have struggled in recent months to hold investor interest.

Bitcoin Shop, which is publicly traded on the OTCQB market, for example, has seen its stock decline from a February high of $5.26 to a press time level of $0.10. Bitcoin Shop's executive team agreed last week to forgo their salaries for the next six months in light of the stock's recent performance.

Although primarily focused on the cryptocurrency space, Vogogo also notably serves businesses in the traditional e-commerce space.

Vogogo joins Vancouver-based bitcoin product and service provider Newnote Financial Corp, which is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, as the latest Canadian digital currency company to list its shares on a major domestic exchange.

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