Cryptsy Founder Paul Vernon on Worthy Altcoins and Pre-Mining

Florida-based exchange Cryptsy trades in over 130 cryptocurrencies, and cryptocurrencies alone.

Where did the idea of a cryptocurrency-only altcoin exchange come from? How does Cryptsy decide to add new coins? And will the company take compliance seriously when it adds fiat into its enormous mix of digital currencies?

CoinDesk sat down with Paul Vernon, CEO and founder of the exchange, to find out.

Vernon started the exchange because of the demand that arose from mining various altcoins.

Vernon eventually amassed a host of different pools, mining a numerous array of altcoins.

Cryptsy now has over 200,000 users registered and over 70,000 are active, having logged in within the past seven days, according to Vernon.

Users can spend Cryptsy points, which are accumulated through trading on the exchange.

Voting with bitcoin donations is also another method for Cryptsy's users to voice an opinion on which altcoins should be added.

Adding new altcoins for trading can be exciting for Cryptsy's users, but Vernon says that sometimes doing so can cause problems.

Crypto-to-crypto was a way to get Cryptsy off the ground, but Vernon wants to set an example for how to do things the right way to ensure long-term stability of the exchange.