Cardiff-based Coincover, a new business specialising in cryptocurrency insurance, is the first and only service to guarantee that people with digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum will not have their investments lost or stolen.

As a virtual product, cryptocurrency can be stored in offline hard drives or online accounts known as “wallets” – but both storage options can be subject to theft or loss. Coincover aims to make investing in cryptocurrency safer and more accessible for consumers; it is the first and only service to guarantee digital funds held online will not be lost or stolen.

Offline wallets are a popular way to store cryptocurrency but limit the flexibility to transfer funds and increase risk of loss with billions of dollars lost forever due to inaccessible “keys” that have been lost, corrupted or just forgotten. By protecting online wallets, Coincover has created an easier and safer way to store cryptocurrency investments.

Coincover customers are protected by:

• 24/7 wallet monitoring: Protecting digital currency at all times, with early-warning alerts for suspected theft.
• Lost key cover: Recovers funds in digital wallets if private keys are lost.
• Secure key storage: Private backup keys are held in an extremely secure offline environment.
• Anti-Theft guarantee: Cash replacement value for any customers who have their funds stolen underwritten by triple A-rated insurance partners.
• Due diligence checks: Notifications are sent when incoming crypto is from a suspicious source.

Coincover protects over 100 different cryptocurrencies, meaning that cryptocurrency investments no longer need to be taken offline to keep them fully secure.

This month, Coincover has also been invited by the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) as one of only eleven of the UK’s cutting edge insurtech companies to showcase their expertise to the US market in Silicon Valley*.

Based in Cardiff Bay, Coincover has been set up by David Janczewski, a Blockchain pioneer who previously worked at the Royal Mint and introduced digital gold enabled by Blockchain. David has over five years’ experience working with cryptocurrency. He is joined by co-founder Adam Smith who has over 20 years’ experience building security systems for the financial services, UK military and police force.

Joining the team as Chief Product Officer is Nick Carlton. Nick whose previous roles include Product Director at Confused.com and Deputy Marketing Director at Admiral. Prior to this, Nick was a senior product manager with Amazon and was responsible for delivering a number of strategic programmes in the UK.

David Janczewski, co-founder of Coincover, said:

“Cryptocurrency ownership is growing fast and becoming more mainstream, but it can still feel like a risky investment. Virtual currencies, by their very nature, are a new concept for many.

“Since the market launched in 2009, cryptocurrency has been associated with scandal, theft and black-market trading. Plus, we’ve all heard reports about people who have had their cryptocurrency wallets hacked or lost their investments due to hardware mishaps but with Coincover, we aim to make this a thing of the past.”