RockWallet: A Bastion of Crypto Asset Management Amidst Market Tumult

RockWallet's self-custody digital asset wallet thrives amid expanding transaction options, acquiring new customers from Wyre, and adding a PRO version with centralized exchange functions. Buoyed by a "rock-solid" commitment to customer experience, RockWallet benefits from regulatory compliance while anticipating future enhancements such as a web-wallet, improved redundancy, and decentralized app integration.

RockWallet: A Bastion of Crypto Asset Management

Amidst the turbulent waters of the digital asset landscape, RockWallet emerges as a beacon of stability and customer-centricity, solidifying its position as a leading self-custodial digital asset wallet.

Surging Momentum and Unprecedented Growth

Last month, RockWallet's triumph escalated with the acquisition of a money transmitter license (MTL) in New Mexico, empowering New Mexican residents to seamlessly store, buy, sell, and swap various cryptocurrencies, including BSV, BTC, BCH, ETH, USDC, and USDT. This strategic move marks an integral step in RockWallet's ambitious plan to obtain the remaining state approvals by year's end.

Co-founder and president Steve Bailey reports a constant stream of inquiries from eager customers in unapproved states, showcasing the immense demand for RockWallet's exceptional services. Responding to this overwhelming interest, Bailey emphasizes RockWallet's unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction.

2023 culminated with a resounding note of optimism for RockWallet, as December witnessed a "massive spike" in both volume and revenue. This momentum propelled into January and February 2024, culminating in March being declared RockWallet's "best month ever," with both volume and revenue surpassing the combined tallies of January and February. Bailey attributes this surge to both renewed public interest in digital assets and the revolutionary introduction of RockWallet PRO.

RockWallet PRO: Unlocking Advanced Trading Options

Launched in early March, RockWallet PRO introduced centralized exchange functions and advanced trading options for BSV pairs to the RockWallet app. Due to regulatory restrictions, PRO's expanded features are currently available exclusively to customers outside the U.S. and Canada. Despite these geographical limitations, Bailey reports an overwhelming response from international customers.

"Over the first couple of days, the volumes were over US$2 million. We weren't expecting that at all." Bailey's astonishment was further compounded by the unexpected behavior of PRO customers. "We expected them to come and trade then pull their assets out, but they're leaving the assets in there because they're continually trading. I'll be honest, I didn't think we'd earned the right to do that so early." An enhanced version of PRO is slated for release in the near future.

Synergistic Acquisition of Wyre Customer Accounts

RockWallet's customer base has received a substantial boost from the influx of users from the now-defunct digital payment platform Wyre, which ceased operations in June 2023. In February, RockWallet announced its acquisition of Wyre's customer accounts, actively reaching out to these individuals with an enticing offer to open RockWallets without the hassle of repeating the KYC (know your customer) process.

Bailey highlights the remarkable synergy between Wyre and RockWallet's operating philosophies and customer-centric approaches. Wyre boasted millions of active, highly engaged, and crypto-savvy customers, and RockWallet's ability to connect with this audience presents a significant growth opportunity.

Bailey emphasizes RockWallet's targeted communication strategy, segmenting Wyre customers based on their past activity and trade eligibility. These overtures have been met with a positive reception, particularly once Wyre customers discover RockWallet's fiat on-/off-ramps, which Bailey deems a crucial differentiator.

Building Upon a Rock-Solid Foundation

RockWallet's remarkable success defies the challenging market conditions that prevailed at its inception in December 2022, amidst the depths of the 'crypto winter' following the demise of FTX and numerous other high-profile crypto failures and scandals. Bailey asserts that the industry-wide purge of fraudulent actors has not adversely affected RockWallet, owing in part to its strong emphasis on regulatory compliance.

"There's a reason we're called RockWallet—rock solid, rock confident. We want to provide the best possible service and instill confidence in our customers. One of the ways to do that is to be regulated."

The BSV community warmly embraced RockWallet, recognizing it as a much-needed alternative following the anti-competitive delisting of BSV from several prominent exchanges in 2019. However, RockWallet's adoption by the broader digital asset community speaks volumes about the exceptional quality of its product and unwavering commitment to customer experience.

From its inception, Bailey emphasizes that RockWallet's customers have always felt supported. "When they weren't supported, we doubled down and made sure they were happy because it's really important that the customer has the best experience. The customer experience is as important or even more important than the technology."

While RockWallet had its own internal targets, Bailey explains that the first year of its existence was primarily dedicated to building a product upon which customers could unconditionally rely.

"We wanted to avoid all the fancy bells and whistles for later. Our focus was ensuring that our customers could send, store, receive, buy, swap, and sell every single time they desired, with each trade facilitated as optimally as possible."

Addressing Customer Expectations

Managing customer expectations remains an ongoing challenge, given what Bailey describes as a widespread "lack of knowledge/understanding in the market around how crypto actually works."

"If a customer trades something, they quite rightly want to know why it isn't in their wallet straightaway, why it wasn't executed? It really is down to the blockchain and the protocol that's being used."

"This is one of the good things about BSV. Zero-confirmations, bang, it's done. Low fees, done. Other coins like BTC, ETH, once it's on the blockchain, it takes a while. Some are faster than others and dependent on the fees the customer wants to pay in terms of prioritizing the trade. Sometimes trades can be on the blockchain for far too long, unacceptable. So I think educational content is one of the things we're going to focus on this year."

While customers are eager to expand the list of available token options, RockWallet's commitment to customer protection necessitates a pragmatic approach to token listings, adhering to regulatory guidelines. "Certainly, in the U.S., we want to avoid listing thousands of coins. The key ones are 99.9% of the volume anyway, and it keeps us on the good side of the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Continuous Development and Expansion

Bailey likens RockWallet's current state to the DeLorean in Back to the Future: "It's basically a car with stuff bolted on it, and it works, but it doesn't look very slick, and Doc Brown's the only one who knows how to operate it." The upcoming product release promises a "revamped customer experience, much slicker."

A primary objective is to "get customers through funnels as quickly as possible," enabling them to become trade-eligible with minimal friction. "You can create a wallet and all you can do is send/store/receive until you go through some form of KYC process. We have Express Verification, a very minimal-touch way to send/store/receive/buy/swap. Then you go through the full KYC process and you have access to the entire gamut of functions," including significantly increased trade limits.

Another highly requested feature is a web-based RockWallet accessible from both desktop and mobile browsers, which Bailey views as a "mitigation strategy." While app stores will remain a crucial channel for RockWallet's distribution, Bailey acknowledges the potential for gatekeepers to impose stringent restrictions on app updates. "At times, it has delayed our development cycle. We just can't have that risk to our business."

Currently in beta mode, the web-wallet will initially mirror the international RockWallet app, limited to send/store/receive functions. International users can now access additional features via PRO. The ultimate goal is to achieve full functional parity across all apps and jurisdictions, with the web-wallet offering the same comprehensive functionality as the mobile apps.

Further enhancements include improved redundancy, expanded payment options, and enhanced scalability. "We built the system to cope with X amount of transactions and we're way below that threshold. But if we're as successful as I think we're going to be, we need to continue to iterate to ensure we can bring in more and more customers, particularly with the Wyre deal as well."

Long-Term Vision and Ambitions

Among RockWallet's long-term aspirations are remittances, which Bailey identifies as "one of the key things you're going to see from us this year." Bailey highlights jurisdictions such as the Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa, and India as likely target markets, with BSV anticipated to play a central role due to its reputation for speed and cost-effectiveness.

Bailey also expresses interest in exploring decentralized apps (dApps) as a means to "open the wallet up to more functionality." "This is one of the things customers ask us about; the ability to use your assets based on the idea of how crypto was originally designed. It's really not a 'store of wealth,' it's to facilitate transactions."

Geographically, RockWallet aims to leverage its Lithuanian license to increase its presence in European markets. "That's not just a 'turn on the switch' action, unfortunately," but "that will happen this year, absolutely."

Unwavering Commitment to Customer Centricity

In closing, Bailey shared a recent experience conducting a "mystery shopper" exercise with RockWallet's online chat support. "The answers were good, but they weren't good enough. And I don't like that, and I know the people involved won't like that either. So what I learned today is that we have work to do in terms of our ability to communicate with our customers."

"I sound like a broken record, but I mean this