The introductory post I wrote for the itBit blog:

At itBit, regulatory compliance is our number one priority and we pride ourselves on having the highest standards in the industry. To further our efforts in this area, I’m happy to announce that Erik Wilgenhof Plante has joined itBit as our Chief Compliance Officer. 

Erik joins us from PayPal and is a respected figure in the regulatory sphere. He is network chairman and fellow of the International Compliance Association, a Financial Industry Certified Professional and a founding board member of the Singapore chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists. Erik will be central to our work to foster a regulated environment for Bitcoin which builds trust with consumers and investors alike. Welcome, Erik!

– Richmond Teo, CEO

As a believer in the potential of virtual currencies, I am delighted to join the itBit team. For me, building out a new sector at the intersection of technology and financial services is a continuation of what I love. I worked in the financial industry in the 1990’s when banks grappled with the arrival of the Internet. Then, like now, people across industries were not sure about the relationship between this new global network and business. As with most new transformative technologies, there were plenty of naysayers. Critics didn’t believe the Internet would amount to much at all—let alone play a central role in global commerce as it does today. 

Like the early days of the Internet, Bitcoin has already had quite a ride. When Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the concept, the world hardly noticed. Sure, some anarchists and libertarians predicted the end of government currencies and taxes. A few tech enthusiasts embraced the possibility of earning coin by using their computers. And several central banks took note. But the mainstream largely ignored the phenomenon until relatively recently when the price of Bitcoin rose spectacularly from 32 cents in 2011 to more than a thousand dollars two years later. 

Why has the value of Bitcoin risen so much? People believe in the tremendous possibilities it brings by empowering people to transfer money, very quickly, at very low cost, anywhere in the world. But to become truly valuable, it must become mainstream. And to enter the mainstream, Bitcoin must gain trust.

Yet few Bitcoin companies have bothered with regulation. Whether from naïveté or to save cost, not many are taking the necessary and required steps to know their customers or how they transact. This understandably worries regulators and law enforcement, as it opens the door to potential misuse or abuse. These are not issues to be taken lightly.

But as I've become more familiar with the Bitcoin industry, there has been only one company that stands tall above the rest in compliance matters. itBit was created with compliance, security and customer experience at its core. The company believes that experienced banking professionals and a regulated environment will build customer trust and a thriving, healthy ecosystem. That's why itBit observes the same know-your-customer practices used by banks, and works with governments to help inform their regulatory decisions. 

I'm thrilled to join this company and to help build a Bitcoin exchange which embraces regulation and protects its customers. itBit can help build the foundation for the success of virtual currencies. 

– Erik Wilgenhof Plante, Chief Compliance Officer