OKCoin.com, the international arm of China's OKCoin, has introduced a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending system it says will increase liquidity on its spot market and provide low-risk interest returns for users willing to loan their coins to traders.

It is the first time all OKCoin's users around the world will have the opportunity to access the lending feature. Traders can choose loans at their preferred interest rates, and are offered 2.2x to 3x leverage depending on their 'VIP level'.

OKCoin has previously deployed the lending system on its Chinese OKCoin.cn site, and says there has been a waiting list for loans. It hopes P2P lending will, as well as build USD spot market liquidity, encourage yet more bitcoin trading on the already high-volume exchange.

The service is similar to those available on other exchanges in the region, such as BitVC and Quoine, although BitVC's system works with fixed interest rates.

The lending market automatically matches borrowers to the most suitable loan conditions, satisfying both parties. Users have the ability to set and choose their own interest rates and a loan duration of three to 360 days.

All funds available for lending are provided by other users; the company does not make any of its own funds available, and it does not provide a guarantee against default.

An OKCoin spokesperson told CoinDesk that, while defaults on such loans are "exceedingly rare", there is an option for lenders to take out insurance against this possibility at a charge of 10% of interest earned.

In addition to the new lending features on the spot-price market, OKCoin has added a full-screen trading interface to its BTC and LTC Futures platforms. The new design has 'click-to-populate' orders and displays complete trading-position and market information without having to leave the page.

The fully interactive interface also offers a suite of drawing tools and numerous indicators for in-depth market analysis, as well as a choice of light/dark themes and various chart styles.

OKCoin says both the P2P lending features and interface upgrades are part of its "aim to develop a seamless trading experience, with a strong focus on transparency and visibility of information for all traders".

Launched

in July 2014, OKCoin.com is the company's Singapore-registered USD exchange. OKCoin itself is China's largest exchange by trade volumes, and has received over $10m in venture funding from such investors as Ceyuan Capital, Venture Labs and Tim Draper.