The current state of the cryptocurrency industry means that it is a good time to own a crypto trading platform. More people and institutions are buying into the market than ever before and business is booming. Firms like CashApp, PayPal, and others are buying up as much crypto as they can and the market is ripe for innovation.
As such, it comes as no surprise that State Street, the second-oldest bank in the United States, has plans in the works to build a bitcoin trading platform. This was made public via an April 8, 2021, official press release.
State Street Takes on Bitcoin
The new platform to be launched is to be called Pure digital and the infrastructure for this will be provided by Currenex, which currently acts as State Street’s trading technology provider. When launched, the platform will be a high throughput OTC counter specializing in digital assets and cryptocurrency. Bank custody and physical deliveries will also be available.
“Currenex is thrilled to leverage our experience and expertise in the FX and digital asset trading marketplace to provide Pure Digital with robust technology and infrastructure for this exciting digital currency trading initiative,” said David Newns, the Global Head of Execution Services for GlobalLink, State Street Global Markets.
From all indications, this platform will be more geared towards institutional investors than retail ones. For example, the custodian services being offered will be for multiple tokens and will feature a “smart custody routing mechanism”.
“Institutional participants will trade on the platform utilising bilateral credit enabling efficient capital utilisation and control for all trading participants. This will establish a robust market for price discovery and exchange of risk,” the announcement says.
Trading is expected to commence by the middle of 2021 and more announcements regarding the launch are to be made public soon.
Besides the launch of the bitcoin trading platform, the announcement also hints that State Street is taking a long-term look at the crypto industry and its potential. Many companies are following this route, including Motley Fool which plans to HODL bitcoin for 5 to 10 years.
