TP ICAP world’s biggest financial broker is set to enter the crypto market with its own institutional trading platform. the project is expected to go live in the second half of this year.
According to Reuters, TP ICAP Group LLC, the world’s largest Interdealer broker, is preparing to enter the crypto market with its crypto trading platform.
The trading platform will be launched in collaboration with Fidelity Investments and StandardChartered’s custody business Zodia, who will function as custodians for the platform. Flow Traders, based in Amsterdam, will offer liquidity to the platform.
The forthcoming cryptocurrency trading platform is expected to go live in the second part of the year. To begin, the site will feature Bitcoin trading, with the addition of Ether trading later.
It would also provide multiple custodians’ post-trade infrastructure for simplicity of investing and security.
Duncan Trenholme, TP ICAP’s co-head of digital assets, stated,
“Investor interest in this new asset class has exploded dramatically in the last six to eight months. In most of our conversations with clients, they want a separation of custodial roles from execution capabilities which is opposite to the models that exist currently.”
This isn’t the consortium’s first crypto endeavour; in 2019, TP ICAP established a Bitcoin Futures and Options contract on the CME.
In the United States, Fidelity has registered for a Bitcoin ETF, while Standard Chartered is preparing to build its own cryptocurrency trading and exchange platform.
The financial market’s largest broker, along with partner financial behemoths, are attempting to make crypto trading comparable to traditional stock and bond trading.
The consortium believes that crypto custody and execution should be different organizations because combining them creates major credit risks, which is something that most crypto service providers do these days.
The consortium is awaiting authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom (FCA) before launching the crypto trading platform.
The presence of mainstream financial behemoths is a positive indication for cryptocurrency adoption because it not only broadens the market but also ensures regulatory compliance.
