Google and Y-Combinator-backed exchange Buttercoin announces early access

With backers like Google Ventures and Y-Combinator behind them (not to mention Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian), it’s safe to say that soon-to-launch Bitcoin exchange Buttercoin will be taken more seriously than most. The exchange announced yesterday that it was opening up user accounts for early access, the first indication that a full launch will be coming soon.

The company, which raised roughly $1.6 million in venture capital funding last year, aims to create a “white label” trading platform for more localized Bitcoin exchanges. Buttercoin’s website claims that their proprietary trading engine is the fastest and most reliable ever created, although such boasts are common from startups.

Early access to the site currently involves being added to a waiting list of well over 6,000, although the site does allow you to cut in line a few places if you post about it via your social networks.

What shape Buttercoin will ultimately take is also an open question. The project began as open-source Bitcoin exchange software in early 2013, but there has been significant debate about the nature of the project since. It’s not clear if Buttercoin.com will simply be the first implementation of the open-source project, or if the developers will launch the Buttercoin engine at the same time.