Bitcoin Exchange Quadriga to Go Public in Reverse Takeover

Canada-based bitcoin exchange Quadriga has announced it has entered into an agreement that, if executed, will find the company debuting on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CES) as soon as next month.

The news follows a shareholder meeting on 2nd March and a decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia to allow Quadriga to conduct a reverse takeover of the shell company Whiteside Capital Corporation.

Co-founder Michael Patryn indicated that the move will provide Quadriga with increased capital while satisfying what he called the public demand for bitcoin-related investment opportunities in the Canadian markets.

Patryn told CoinDesk:

"I believe that the audit is an important direction for an exchange. The people want to invest in bitcoin infrastructure."

Quadriga will merge with Whiteside to become a public company called Quadriga FinTech Solutions Corp. Quadriga will be the 100% owner of Whiteside Capital and Quadriga CX, its bitcoin exchange subsidiary. As a result of the deal, Quadriga will no longer be owned by Blueprint Corporate Services, a firm that assisted Quadriga in raising capital.

The maneuver to take the company public has been in the works for some time, with Quadriga entering into a private placement with Whiteside in November 2014.

Launched in 2013, Quadriga has since emerged as a potential market leader in Canada's beleaguered bitcoin exchange sector. In the past few months, both CAVirtex and Vault of Satoshi, the oldest and most visible bitcoin exchanges, closed down operations.

Business details

The public plan included details about Quadriga's planned business operations, including insights into how it plans to expand its exchange, remittance and merchant services.

Of note are portions of the report that provide details into Quadriga's exchange business which suggest the company has 5,000 clients and processes C$60,000 in daily trade on its platform.

Quadriga also disclosed it is in negotiations with two unnamed online casinos to become their sole processing provider.

The exchange indicates it raised $908,650 in six issuances of common shares.

Canadian dollar image via Shutterstock