NY Stock Exchange trains sights on cryptocurrency trading platform

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As the cryptocurrency market begins to enter the acceptance stage, it appears that even the New York Stock Exchange has taken the bait. According to reports in The New York Times, the world’s largest stock exchange platform is actively looking into starting a full-fledged cryptocurrency exchange.

With this development, the NYSE has stolen a considerable march on its competitors, Goldman Sachs and Nasdaq which have also mooted an entry into the market as interest and, more importantly, turnover continues to grow. Goldman Sachs will be entering the cryptocurrency market, according to recent reports, with a product that is targeted towards traditional investors in the form of Bitcoin futures. This was being done to facilitate increasing demand from clients and investors who are showing a continued interest in the cryptocurrency markets.

In an investigation carried out by the New York Times, it was revealed that Goldman and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange,was developing an online Bitcoin trading platform “that would allow large investors to buy and hold Bitcoin.”

This continues to add fuel to the fire regarding further expansion of cryptocurrencies to traditional outlets. In fact, even the chief executive of Nasdaq had revealed that the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange would be open to trading the digital coins only if there was a regulated environment in operation.

It appears that the NYSE and its parent company will be developing a proper bitcoin exchange where investors can buy and sell the major cryptocurrencies without involvement of futures, derivatives or other types of contracts. The exchange will operate in a similar manner to Coinbase, where investors will be able to transfer funds from their digital wallets. The NYSE will come into competition with Coinbase Custody that already allows large scale institutional investors to purchase and trade cryptocurrencies. However, the exchange only allows a minimum investor of $15 million, making it prohibitive for normal investors to enter the market.