Media | 2 March 2018 09:00

FinLab AG: FinLab holding Vaultoro launches Bar9, a new gold-based online savings account

DGAP-Media / 02.03.2018 / 09:00

Frankfurt/London/Berlin, March 2, 2018 – The Crypto start-up Vaultoro, a portfolio company of FinLab AG (ISIN: DE0001218063; Ticker: A7A.GR), announces the launch of its second product: the online gold savings account Bar9.

Using Bar9, customers can immediately invest their money in physical gold and thereby protect it against inflation and currency fluctuations – starting from just one euro. The savings account works in both ways: customers can store their savings balance as gold, but can also turn their gold into money and make withdrawals in euros – just like a normal bank account, but without any involvement from the bank. The bars of 99.99% fine gold are stored in a Swiss vault. Should they wish, the gold can be sent to customers at any time. In a short while, the Bar9 app shall also be ready, the first gold-based debit card be made available and the platform extended to include other precious metals, such as silver and palladium, as well as cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

In September 2017, Vaultoro received a seven-figure sum from the listed company FinLab AG, one of the largest company builders and investors in the fintech and crypto sectors to invest in the expansion of its product range. The start-up has already been operating in the market as a real-time trading platform for gold and bitcoin since 2015.

With its new product, Bar 9 is now covering another financial area. “With Bar9 we are another step closer to realizing our vision of establishing a fair and global financial system for everyone. Gold is one of the most stable currencies in the world and is considered a safe method to preserve value across cultures. Those who want to invest their money wisely, without needing to invest equally large sums in the process, will find the perfect solution in Bar9,” explains Joshua Scigala, Vaultoro’s CEO and Co-founder.

Bar9: the fastest way to your own secure gold holding
“Having your own securely-stored gold holding that retains its value is no longer a privilege of the elite – it is becoming mainstream,” declares Philip Scigala, Joshua’s brother and co-founder of Vaultoro. The product doesn’t just make it easy to turn savings into physical gold – the customer can also easily exchange it back into traditional currency. “Bar9 is changing the way we store value. It offers everyone a fast, simple and safe way to invest their money in gold and to use it as a means of payment,” Philip Scigala continues. An account can be set up within minutes, the gold value is continuously tracked online and the gold can be sent to the customer at any time.

Bar9’s gold partner is Pro Aurum, one of the largest dealers of precious metals in Europe. Pro Aurum stores the bars of 99.99 percent fine gold in a vault facility in Switzerland. The purity is audited by BDO International, one of the largest audit companies in the world. Unlike traditional banking, Vaultoro has opted for a transparent protocol using blockchain technology. The “Glass Books Protocol” guarantees absolute transparency of your own deposits and shows that Vaultoro is not using its users’ property for speculative purposes.

Two brothers, one start-up: the entrepreneurs behind Bar9
Bar9 is the second product from the fintech start-up Vaultoro. The founders are Joshua and Philip Scigala: two brothers who grew up on different continents and who have been designing technical solutions together since 2015 which allow customers to use their physical gold as a means of payment. The Vaultoro vision is to develop the largest asset-based banking solution in the world. Its products include Vaultoro Trading, the world’s first real-time trading platform for gold and bitcoin, as well as Bar9, the gold savings account. The investment received from FinLab is being used by Vaultoro to expand its products into multi-asset platforms. Further precious metals such as silver, platinum and palladium as well as (crypto) currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum are planned to be integrated into all the existing products.

About Vaultoro Ltd.:
Since 2015, the fintech start-up Vaultoro has been working toward its vision of developing the world’s largest asset-based banking solution. The goal: creating a fair, global financial system for everyone. Vaultoro wants to enable everyone to easily and quickly manage their physical and digital assets such as gold, silver or bitcoin. The start-up creates technical solutions with which customers can use their physical gold as a means of payment. Its products include Vaultoro Trading, the world’s first real-time trading platform for gold and bitcoin, as well as Bar9, the gold savings account. To date, more than 1.5 tons of gold (with a current value of 55 million dollars) have been traded via Vaultoro and the quantity of gold traded is increasing every month by an average of 86 percent. Vaultoro’s head offices are located in Berlin and London. The start-up currently has more than 10,000 customers from 94 countries.

Press contact:
Press Office Vaultoro
c/o kalia kommunikation
Teresa Staill und Lena Schnieder
Tieckstraße 38, 10115 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30 2758175 11
vaultoro@kalia-kommunikation.de
www.bar9.com

About FinLab AG:
Stock market listed company FinLab AG (WKN 121806 / ISIN DE0001218063 / ticker symbol: A7A.GR) is one of the first and largest company builders and investors focused on the Financial Services Technologies (“FinTech”) sector in Europe. FinLab focuses on developing German FinTech startups and providing venture capital for their financial needs, whereby in each case the aim is a long-term participation and ongoing support of the investment. FinLab also invests globally, as part of venture rounds, in FinTech companies, primarily in the USA and Asia.

Press contact:
FinLab AG:
investor-relations@finlab.de
www.finlab.de
Phone: +49 69 719 12 80 0

End of Media Release

Issuer: FinLab AG
Key word(s): Enterprise

02.03.2018 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
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Language:	English
Company:	FinLab AG
	Grüneburgweg 18
	60322 Frankfurt/Main
	Germany
Phone:	+49 (0)69 719 12 80 – 0
Fax:	+49 (0)69 719 12 80 – 011
E-mail:	investore-relations@finlab.de
Internet:	www.finlab.de
ISIN:	DE0001218063
WKN:	121806
Listed:	Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (Scale), Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange

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