The launch of a new app-based exchange feature by Edinburgh-based Zumo, the cryptocurrency wallet and exchange platform, has led to a surge in user demand as new investors continue the move towards bitcoin. 

The Zumo App’s GBP exchange function allows users to easily buy, sell, send and spend cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum without the need to use an intermediary such as a bank. Added to Zumo’s fully decentralised approach to user information, the launch of the exchange function marks a UK first for Zumo among its competitors. 

Since its launch last week, Zumo has recorded a 400% increase in exchange volumes on the app, a trend which the company expects to be sustained as the price of bitcoin continues to rise and investor confidence grows. 

Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Zumo, said: “One of the most obvious obstacles to acquiring bitcoin and other currencies is the reluctance of traditional banks to facilitate the buying and selling.  

“Our app removes that barrier and makes it easier and safer for the man or woman on the street to own these fast-growing currencies and at a time of unparalleled global economic uncertainty.” 

All financial and personal information used on the Zumo App is managed by keys held securely and privately by each user on the blockchain. 

The growth in demand for Zumo coincides with a worldwide increase in interest in cryptocurrencies and a mainstream investor move towards bitcoin, which has grown in value by more than 60% this year, with one coin now worth more than $11,000. 

Zumo estimates that more than 1.1 million new cryptocurrency wallets, similar to those it has developed for its app, have been created in the UK in the past year alone, suggesting that small-scale investors are putting their confidence in these new digital currencies.