American broker TD Ameritrade Holding Corp has invested an unspecified amount in the ErisX regulated derivatives stock exchange. This will allow the site to launch deliverable futures for bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, and litecoin, according to a press release.
The purpose of the new ErisX platform is to offer a wide range of futures with physical delivery for several cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. Under the leadership of Thomas Chippas the exchange plans to become a key place for individual and institutional investors for trading cryptocurrencies and derivatives-related digital assets. Previously, Chippas led quantitative trading at Citigroup, but left the post several months ago.
In addition to TD Ameritrade, the new platform is supported by such trading giants as DRW, Virtu Financial, and Susquehanna International Group, as well as venture companies Digital Currency Group, Nex Opportunities, and CMT Digital. They are confident that ErisX will be the harbinger of a new wave of market participants
“Our retail clients are seeking to access and trade digital currency products in the same way they do with traditional capital markets – through a legitimate, regulated and transparent exchange. That’s precisely why we chose to invest in ErisX – to make digital currency products more accessible to retail clients”, Steve Quirk, executive vice president of Trading & Education at TD Ameritrade said.
Representatives of TD Ameritrade note that the company's customers already have access to settled futures contracts for bitcoin on the CBOE exchange. Thanks to a strategic partnership with ErisX, which is also a clearing organization, broker customers will be able to trade futures for ethereum, litecoin, and other popular digital currencies. ErisX regulated exchange plans to launch spot trading in digital assets in the first half of 2019.
Virtu Financial, which will become a partner of ErisX, will also provide crypto futures liquidity. This is a well-known marketplace, which has a duty to carry out a client’s transaction at any time, regardless of the market situation with a minimum deviation from the current market price. Such interaction and participation of the major players suggest the task of making the ErisX product interesting for Wall Street.
Experts believe that ErisX has every chance of becoming a serious competitor to Bakkt. One of the main news this spring was the intercontinental exchange ICE, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announcing the launch of a crypto exchange Bakkt. The platform will cooperate with giants in the field of fintech, such as BCG, Starbucks, and Microsoft. Bakkt's main goal is to create an accessible ecosystem that can support the growing needs of the digital asset market. By combining consumer and institutional applications with a regulated infrastructure, project founders seek to ensure transparency and trust in digital asset markets. This will provide the project with a key role in increasing institutional, trade, and consumer participation in the field of crypto assets. The sources familiar with the details of the project now say that ErisX has every chance of becoming a serious competitor to Bakkt.
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