We had a chat with Dmitry Kuravkin, our new director at Instacoins Estonia OU. A FinTech enthusiast with a legal background, Dmitry is a native Estonian, described by colleagues as a dedicated professional with strong principles. He believes having a universal regulation framework for digital currencies is the way forward. 

What motivated you to join Instacoins Estonia OÜ?For me, the core of any business is the people who drive it. I believe Instacoins has a strong team of professionals and together we can help existing businesses reach new horizons and bring new solutions to our clients. 

What kind of operation will you be managing in Estonia? Are you looking for specific human resources?Instacoins Estonia OÜ is part of the global Instacoins team. My responsibility will be to manage all the aspects related to our regulation activities in Estonia. We are continuously looking for enthusiastic professionals who believe in our product and can help improve our service for our clients.

What are your goals/priorities for the upcoming year?One of the most critical priorities is satisfying the requirements of all the regulators supervising our activities. Luckily the crypto-industry is becoming more regulated, which means the compliant players will be the front-runners. My priority is to acknowledge all present nuances within the Instacoins business, and together with the IC Team, decide our next steps: new markets to tap into, new services to set-up for our clients, etc. 

What interesting projects are there in the pipeline?We’re working very hard to launch our crypto debit card soon! I’m really excited about that.  

At the moment, Europe is coming out of lockdown. How have you spent these past 2 months?I’ve joined the Instacoins team in the middle of a pandemic, so most of my time in lockdown was spent familiarising myself with the company’s activities and plans. I’ve also had time to complete my course in Data Analysis at the London School of Economics.

How do you see Bitcoin emerging from the coronavirus pandemic?The coronavirus has certainly helped fuel curiosity around Bitcoin. People have more time on their hands, reading up, purchasing online… I can use my father as an example: he bought his first Bitcoin last month! So I can definitely see an increase in interest and new users. And with more users, institutions will be more compelled to push for stricter regulations in the crypto-space. This will significantly reduce the number of scammers in the market. 

How will the crypto space evolve in the next 5 years?In a few years, Bitcoin will become part of the global financial service world. This is where we’re headed. The crypto-world will be much safer and secure as more reliable methods for identifying customers (KYC) come into play. Consumers will benefit from added regulation, which will lead to an increase in Bitcoin adoption. 

Have you read any interesting books lately?I would definitely recommend “Factfulness” by Swedish statistician, Hans Rosling. During the past few years, we have experienced a surge in misinformation. People still believe all the information out there related to FinTech for instance, and presently Covid-19, that is not based on the facts. This book is a must-read for our generation. It reminds us of how essential it is to remain skeptical and practise clear thinking. 

Dmitry Kuravkin is Director at Instacoins Estonia OÜ, a FinTech company fully regulated under Estonian law to provide services of exchanging virtual currency against fiat, as well as provide a Bitcoin wallet service to all its clients.