Q&A Questions on Independent Reserve How is Independent Reserve different to other Bitcoin exchanges? Our exchange is based in a AAA rated country and audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, giving users increased confidence to trade. Our executive team has a depth of experience in financial markets, not just IT, bringing the solid framework of institutional finance to the growing industry that is Bitcoin. We adhere to KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance protocols to ensure all customers have been identified appropriately. Independent Reserve provides a safe, secure place to buy, sell and store Bitcoins. We have spent thousands of hours on R&D to make sure our platform is completely robust and our proprietary technology includes many levels of safeguards to ensure users are well protected. Why is it safe to trade with Independent Reserve? What makes your platform so robust? Independent Reserve maintains strict security protocols and adherence to the laws around identity, privacy, finance and tax to ensure all our stakeholders are protected and their transactions are safe. Our data is signed and encrypted multiple times using geographically dispersed keys, spread across four data centres in Australia and Asia, and we utilise cold storage to hold the majority of Bitcoins completely offline. Our core servers are securely located at two Tier 3 data centres, in Sydney, Australia. This allows us to synchronously replicate all data across both locations in real-time, to ensure zero data loss. To ensure system continuity, we have a fully configured production environment in a secondary data centre, ready to fail over to should the need arise. Don’t other exchanges offer security encryption and data centre redundancy? The Independent Reserve technical team has over 30 years’ experience in designing and implementing robust enterprise systems for large companies in Australia and overseas. Security has been the core tenet of all design decisions made during the development of Independent Reserve, which has resulted in the development of the Airmarshal™ platform. This is a modular and secure system consisting of multiple loosely coupled components which can be secured and scaled individually. At the core of the Airmarshal™ platform are Airlock™ and Airgap™. Airlock™ is our enterprise grade authentication subsystem which provides authentication, authorization and logging mechanisms for both our users and the system as a whole. Independent Reserve Pty. Ltd. ABN 46 164 257 069 Level 15, 9 Hunter Street, Sydney 2000 New South Wales, Australia Ph: +61 2 8417 2843 Email: general@independentreserve.com Website: www.independentreserve.com Airgap™ is our proprietary and market leading Bitcoin hot wallet solution. It allows for a physical separation between the storage of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin network itself. Can anyone trade Bitcoin with Independent Reserve? Independent Reserve aims to make the Bitcoin market more collaborative and approachable. Our platform is easy to use and outlines the steps you need to take to protect yourself before trading. Independent Reserve must be able to verify your identity before trading. We are currently able to automatically verify clients from over 20 countries, including Australia, United States, UK and China. As part of the Airmarshal™ platform, Independent Reserve offers Airlink™, which is a fully featured API allowing seamless integration between Independent Reserve and third party software applications. How is Independent Reserve funded? How do you intend to earn revenue? Independent Reserve is funded by a group of private investors in Australia and Asia, who share a common vision to take Bitcoin to the next level. Independent Reserve charges a flat fee of 0.5 % on all trades, however we are open to negotiation with market makers and heavy volume traders. Questions about Bitcoin How safe is Bitcoin? Isn’t it still a bit of a black market currency? While still a relatively new form of currency, when managed with integrity and intelligence, Bitcoin presents a serious financial proposition. Also, we are seeing regulators, central banks and tax offices around the world looking closely at Bitcoin, with new regulation emerging. While there are already many legitimate operators in the Bitcoin market, increased regulation will serve to improve the quality and safety of the industry as a whole. Along with a wave new investment, the general level of professionalism in the industry has increased over the past 12 months, which is a great thing for the Bitcoin eco-system. Why would I invest in Bitcoin over other vehicles? There are several reasons why someone may prefer to invest in Bitcoin over more traditional investment vehicles. For starters, there’s a known rate of inflation. Because Bitcoin is not controlled by a central entity, it is not possible for Bitcoins to be created at any rate other than what is allowed by its algorithm (currently 25 coins every 10 minutes, reducing over time). This means that unlike traditional currencies which can be arbitrarily issued and printed by a central bank, Bitcoin offers a safeguard against inflation. Also, Bitcoin is designed for the internet and can be easily and instantly transferred between any two people in the world. Bitcoin can also be very easily accepted by merchants without the need to Independent Reserve Pty. Ltd. ABN 46 164 257 069 Level 15, 9 Hunter Street, Sydney 2000 New South Wales, Australia Ph: +61 2 8417 2843 Email: general@independentreserve.com Website: www.independentreserve.com set up merchant accounts or other traditional banking facilities. This allows for a very cheap and easy way for merchants to accept payments from a worldwide user base. Due to the fact that Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed, do not carry personal information, and are secure, merchants are protected from potential losses that may occur from fraud. Bitcoin is portable, and can be transacted instantly via multiple devices in multiple countries, allowing a degree of mobility that traditional currencies have not enjoyed to date. Bitcoin may also prove useful to those ‘unbanked’ individuals who are currently excluded from the traditional bricksand-mortar banking system. What would you say to the cynics who say Bitcoin won’t last? The use and ownership of Bitcoin is growing steadily. It’s become an important form of payment for millions of people, with companies like Dell and Expedia accepting them as payment and Bitcoin ATMs opening every week. As it becomes safer and easier to buy, sell and store Bitcoin, use will only increase. Independent Reserve Pty. Ltd. ABN 46 164 257 069 Level 15, 9 Hunter Street, Sydney 2000 New South Wales, Australia Ph: +61 2 8417 2843 Email: general@independentreserve.com Website: www.independentreserve.com