Wall Street craves cryptocurrency options – Binance is answering the call. The latest ETF by VanEck, the CBOE, and SolidX was recently voluntarily withdrawn, but it isn’t due to a lack of interest. While we may be mistaking industry interest, it’s clear that it hasn’t waned.
To answer this continued interest, we’re starting to see crypto-centric over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks. These OTC desks aren’t from new start ups either, they’re coming from cryptocurrency’s most eminent start ups.
We’re nearly finished with the first month of 2019, but cryptocurrency and the industry continues to be optimistic. Bitcoin continues to trade in a tight and seemingly unbreakable range, and organizations in cryptocurrency continue to chug along. Road maps continue to be updated and new development continue to be announced.
Venture groups have hinted towards increased and new funding, crypto tokens continue to seek new business deals, and institutional stalwarts continue to double-down on their Bitcoin efforts, like Nasdaq.
Institutional investors continue to seek options to sate their thirst for cryptocurrency options, and as a result, OTC platforms, which give traders the ability to purchase cryptocurrencies at market prices with near-zero fees, slippage, and with little security and custodial risk. Crypto startups, including exchanges, are noticing and trying to facilitate this interest. Binance is one of these exchanges.
Binance recently invested 3 million in an OTC platform, Koi Trading, and after they did so, Binance launched their own OTC desk on January 23rd. In an announcement via their own blog, CZ Zhao gave Binance’s clients a first look into their in-house cryptocurrency OTC desk.
The desk supports the digital assets listed on Binance Exchange, currently at 80+. Trading would be available for accounts that have completed the “Level Two” KYC verification and are looking to trade over 20 BTC worth of value at a time. This amounts to around $71,000 at current BTC prices.
But what’s the difference between Binance’s OTC counter and other OTC platforms? Other than the fact that Binance won’t be able to process fiat transactions, the desk will allow trades of substantially more cryptocurrencies than are offered by other OTC platforms.
Binance’s OTC desk will allow for Wall Street and other high net-worth individuals to invest in smaller-cap cryptocurrencies that were previously inaccessible. This might spark renewed interest in innovative yet lesser-known projects that promise the world and beyond.
This shows something with absolute clarity. Binance’s new addition of its OTC desk shows that there is vigorous and persistent interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole from Wall Street institutions and beyond. This shows that our saying that Wall Street and high net-worth individuals being interested in cryptocurrencies isn’t speculation, it’s concrete fact.
Michael Moro of Genesis, another OTC desk platform operator, has corroborated that OTC desks have begun seeing buying pressure increasing. Moro concedes that, while December saw a large amount of holders liquidating their positions and holdings rapidly, buying interest has picked up since the start of 2019.
With Binance’s latest move into the OTC platform, along with new moves from Coinbase and BitGo, it’s apparent that Wall Street hasn’t given up on crypto, despite what you may have read on your cryptocurrency Facebook Group posts and comments. Rather, they’re very much interested. However, that interest won’t be very public, nor will the participation thereof be so visible to us. But careful research and seeing what companies like Binance are offering paint a drastically different picture than the one that we see on the surface.
But we will begin to see that interest from institutional investors and Wall-Street. Slowly but surely. Both Bakkt and VanEck have double-downed on their intent to offer cryptocurrency products. Their setbacks, they realize, are only obstacles towards their goals, because they know there’s a market for their products. Emboldened by movers and shakers like NASDAQ’s CEO and others, they know that there’s increasing desire for their products and services.
Do you agree? Do you think 2019 will begin the groundwork for institutional buying? Let us know on our Facebook page!
