Elliptic has launched a new insured bitcoin storage service, aimed at offering protection to bitcoins against accidental loss and theft.
Claimed to be the first-of-its-kind in the world, the new service uses ‘deep cold storage’ techniques to secure the digital currency, by storing private encrypted keys to bitcoins on offline servers and in a safe location.
Lloyds of London has been appointed as underwriter for the Elliptic Vault service and is also responsible for insurance payouts for any loss or theft for a fee of about 2% per year.
Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson told the BBC that one of the main concerns people have with bitcoin is that it’s quite difficult to store securely.
"Offering people insurance seemed an obvious step," Robinson said.
"It was very difficult to find an insurer."
According to the firm, online wallets that allow storing bitcoins have faced several cyber-attacks and some of the bitcoin users have also experienced accidental loss.
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"The industry is very conservative and they did not understand Bitcoin," Robinson added.
"They were also influenced by the negative publicity Bitcoin received, although this has improved since Silk Road [an online marketplace] was taken down and stopped dominating the Bitcoin agenda."
In addition, the new service also allows tracking bitcoin holdings via the blockchain.
