How Speer supported Netcoins, Canada’s regulated crypto trading platform, through its expansion into 48 US states: a brand refresh, web and mobile app support and state-by-state compliance work. Netcoins is one of Canada’s longest-running crypto trading platforms, founded in Vancouver in 2014 and registered with securities regulators in every province. In 2022 it set out to do something few Canadian fintechs manage: launch in the United States, one state licence at a time. Speer Technologies partnered with Netcoins on the brand refresh, website and mobile app work and the state-by-state compliance effort that expansion required.

The situation

Entering the US market meant a new entity, Netcoins USA, a product that looked and felt current to American customers, and a trading experience that met different rules in each state. The first five states went live in December 2022. By September 2024 Netcoins USA was fully operational on web and mobile in 48 states. Every one of those launches needed engineering, design and compliance work to land together.

What Speer did

Brand refresh across the product

Speer supported the refresh of the Netcoins brand as it moved into the US, carrying the updated identity through the website, the mobile app and the Netcoins Pay card experience so the product read as one platform on both sides of the border.

Website and mobile app support

Speer provided engineering support for the Netcoins website and the iOS and Android apps through the expansion, including the feature and interface updates that accompanied each market launch.

Compliance, state by state

US crypto rules differ by state, from licensing to which assets can be offered. Speer worked with the Netcoins team to implement the product and process changes each state required, so launches could proceed as approvals arrived.

Results

Netcoins USA operational on web and mobile in 48 states as of September 2024, with a single brand and product experience across Canada and the US. Speer builds digital banking, payments, insurance and digital asset products for financial institutions and fintech companies. See the finance industry page for more of this work, or book a call to talk about yours.

FAQ

What did Speer build for Netcoins?

Speer partnered with Netcoins on its expansion into the US market: a brand refresh, engineering support for the website and mobile app, and the compliance work required for each state it entered.

Is Netcoins regulated?

Yes. Netcoins is registered with the British Columbia Securities Commission and securities regulators across Canada, is a FINTRAC-registered money services business, and operates in the US through Netcoins USA. It is owned by Surge Digital Inc., formerly BIGG Digital Assets, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Does Speer build fintech and crypto products?

Yes. Speer builds digital banking, payments, insurance and digital asset products for financial institutions and fintech companies, with security and compliance designed in from the first sprint. Partners include TD Bank, Netcoins and State Farm.

How does Speer handle compliance in financial products?

Compliance runs alongside development rather than after it. We build to PCI DSS for payment data, follow SOC 2 principles for security and availability, keep production data in the partner’s environment and work with the partner’s compliance team through audit.