BitGo Launches New Financial Transparency Service

BitGo has announced a new service that leverages the security firm's status as a consigner on its multisig accounts to allow customers the means to provide greater financial transparency.

As part of the announcement, bitcoin firm ChangeTip will use the new Verified by BitGo service to demonstrate its account holdings. The tipping platform will display its bitcoin solvency on its website, listing assets and liabilities in real-time along with information specific to individual users.

Links to the Verified by BitGo page will also be displayed within each user's ChangeTip account page and on the website's home page when users aren't logged in to the service.

According to the company, Verified by BitGo is seeking to become a foundational security feature for companies operating on the blockchain in the same way that VeriSign's offerings helped expand consumer trust in e-commerce.

As explained by BitGo CTO Ben Davenport, Verified by BitGo aims to mainstream the complex proof of reserves processes long used by prominent companies in the industry as a way to build consumer trust.

Davenport told CoinDesk:

"You've seen this a number of ways done over time. You've seen it very ad-hoc, where an exchange would make a very large transfer to prove that they had control of the funds. That's very risky, and fraught with operational risk."

The service also intends to showcase the ability of BitGo's technology in tracking more conventional assets, as the service will be able to provide proof of fiat currency reserves for companies that keep consumer balances in such holdings.

As such, Davenport sees bitcoin exchanges as one of the sectors best capable of driving adoption of its new tool, though such discussions, he said, are still in the early stages.

"We're having conversations with exchanges. I don't think we have specific names but we hope to launch with some additional customers," he said.

Piggy bank image via Shutterstock