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The cryptocurrency industry is filled with trading platforms, exchanges, brokers, and similar businesses, up to the point that newcomers to the industry need to do hours and hours worth of research just to pick between the platforms that are available to them and find which is the best for them. However, despite this, there is a significant lack of platforms for institutional clients.
With institutional investors hesitating to join the crypto industry for the entire decade of their existence, crypto trading platforms and similar businesses had no choice but to focus on retail investors.
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However, this is about to change, as the London-based broker, TP ICAP Group Plc is planning to launch a brand-new cryptocurrency venue specially created for institutional investors. This would allow the company to expand its footprint in the cryptocurrency market, while institutions will get a new trading platform specially designed to cater to their specific needs.
The company is not doing it alone, however. It partnered with Fidelity Digital Assets and Zodia Custody to create the best possible platform for the broker’s clients.
Speaking of the clients, TP ICAP’s co-head of digital assets, Simon Forster, stated that many of the clients have been prevented from accessing crypto asset markets due to the market infrastructure and the limitations it brings with it. Most execution venues require pre-funding, and they act mostly as custodians.
The new platform will take a different approach, and it will start signing up clients soon, with the launch being scheduled for the second half of the year. So far, it is known that the project will collaborate with several liquidity providers, including Flow Traders.
It is worth pointing out that many of the involved firms already have some experience with cryptos. TP ICAP has been offering Bitcoin (BTC/USD) futures since 2019, while Zodia Custody is a unit of Standard Chartered, which previously teamed up with BC Technology Group — an investment company that specializes in digital assets, and is based in Hong Kong.