Chicago, IL, Sept. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —                            

CHICAGO, September 06, 2016 — Straits Financial LLC (“Straits”), announced today it will be the first U.S. based Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”) to utilize the services of bitcoin payment processor BitPay Inc. (“BitPay”) and digital bank WB21 Ltd (“WB21”).  Straits’ initiatives with WB21 and Bitpay will allow its customers to convert bitcoin assets into one of several different currencies to fund their Straits investment and trading accounts.  Straits believes this is an important step in the further development of the use of digital assets in the derivative markets.

The WB21 and BitPay services will allow bitcoin traders, companies and other users to rely on the Straits Financial infrastructure to trade and manage risk in the multi-trillion dollar commodities markets in products such as energy, precious and base metals, agricultural commodities and stock indexes.  Straits Financial LLC President Joseph Mazurek remarks “This is a great next step for Straits and the industry.  BitPay and WB21 will help customers to easily convert their bitcoin holdings into currencies that can be used to fund their futures trading accounts and will provide the bitcoin community easier access to an alternative suite of investment options.”

Since bitcoin can be remitted anywhere globally in minutes via an internet connection, BitPay believes it has the ability to significantly reduce account funding time for Straits’ clients.  With WB21’s ability to convert bitcoin into multiple currencies via BitPay, this new bitcoin funding option should give clients a better  way to reach more global futures markets.

“Bitcoin offers one of the fastest, most secure ways for investors to fund trading accounts, and WB21’s real-time cross-currency conversion just makes this a better option for international trading,” says BitPay Chief Commercial Officer Sonny Singh.  “We couldn’t be more excited to be working together with Straits Financial to make bitcoin a fixture in futures trading.”

“Using our real-time bitcoin funding and multi-currency banking system, offers a fast and convenient solution for investors to fund their trading accounts at Straits.  We are happy to provide the platform and offer Straits Financial our services”, says WB21 CEO Michael Gastauer. 

About Straits Financial Group                                                                                                                                                               

Headquartered in Singapore, Straits Financial Group (“Straits”) is the boutique brokerage house under CWT Limited that offers a full spectrum of derivatives & OTC products, including trade facilitation for physical commodities. We have established affiliate offices in Chicago, New Jersey, Shanghai and in Jakarta.  The U.S. subsidiary, Straits Financial LLC, is a full Clearing Member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the Commodity Exchange (COMEX), CME Clearport, Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), New Zealand Exchange (NZX). Straits’ clearing access to all major global commodity exchanges, combined with the logistical and warehousing support from CWT, offers a unique blend of integrated services to fulfill the needs of sophisticated customers trading in the commodities space. Our distinctiveness has kept Straits ahead of market competition and continues to be our key success factor. For more information, visit www.straitsfinancial.com  

About CWT Limited

CWT Limited is a leading provider of integrated logistics and supply chain solutions. Our business is about connecting world trade. We move, build and power customers’ supply chain forward. We combine our logistics capabilities, global network and resources to add value for customers. CWT Group also provides commodity marketing, financial and engineering services ancillary to its core logistics business. For more information, visit www.cwtlimited.com .

About WB21

With more than 800,000 customers, and a monthly payment volume of over 750 million USD, WB21 redefines banking on a global scale. We’ve created the ultimate solution in digital banking, a global solution for people and businesses that want to open accounts in minutes, transfer money in real time and pay less in banking fees. Our solution is where money can flow freely for a fair price, with the ultimate mission to offer the world a new standard in banking; WB21. For more information, visit www.wb21.com

Twitter: @WebBank21

About BitPay

With over four years of experience in handling bitcoin payments, BitPay is the industry’s first and most experienced bitcoin payment processor. For more information, visit www.bitpay.com.

Media Contacts:

Straits Financial

Christopher Castillo, VP of Sales & Marketing

312-846-5653

[email protected]

BitPay

James Walpole, Marketing and Communications Manager

[email protected]

WB21

AJ Agrawal / Chief Marketing Officer

614-266-2525 / [email protected]

DISCLAIMER: Trading commodity futures and options products present a high degree of risk and losses in excess of your initial investment may occur. Please contact your account representative with any concerns or questions.