TP Icap to Launch Crypto Trading Platform With Fidelity, StanChart -- Financial News
June 29 2021 - 05:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Emily Nicolle
Of Financial News
TP ICAP Group PLC is launching a cryptocurrency trading platform
for institutional investors, as part of a consortium with Fidelity
Investments and Standard Chartered PLC's digital asset custody unit
Zodia.
The new platform will include spot crypto trading for tokens
including bitcoin and ether for wholesale markets, and access to
custody solutions provided by Fidelity and Zodia. It will be
subject to registration with the Financial Conduct Authority, TP
Icap said, as part of the regulator's temporary permissions regime
for crypto-exposed businesses.
Institutional investors have been ploughing into digital assets
since October last year, providing much of the bulk behind a rise
in the value of cryptocurrencies since then. In 2021 several major
banks have begun developing plans to offer access to the asset
class, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and BNY
Mellon.
TP Icap's co-head of digital assets Simon Forster said the
separation of execution and settlement was a key requirement for
many institutional investors seeking to enter the cryptoasset
space, which can cause conflicts of interest if not resolved.
"Client demand to trade spot cryptoassets is significant and
growing, with interest coming from our traditional customer base
across the different asset classes we operate in," Mr. Forster said
Tuesday.
"But to date many of our clients have been prevented from
accessing cryptoasset markets due to current limitations in market
infrastructure, with most execution venues requiring pre-funding
and also acting as custodian."
The world's largest interdealer broker said its platform will
launch in the second half of this year, by which time it will have
additional liquidity providers alongside its founding partner Flow
Traders.
It will be operated by Mr. Forster and fellow co-head Duncan
Trenholme from the firm's offices in London, with additional
locations in New York and Asia in future. Launched initially in the
City, the platform will be available to clients worldwide.
"Collaborating with industry leaders like TP Icap to bring to
market innovative solutions that strengthen the digital assets
ecosystem is critical to enabling even more institutional
participation," said Chris Tyrer, head of Fidelity's digital assets
business in Europe.
"With this new infrastructure, we're addressing one of the
frictions in the investor experience that's unique to this nascent
asset class. Now, investors can more confidently execute trades
knowing their assets remain still and secure in our custody."
StanChart is also set to launch its own digital asset brokerage
and exchange platform for U.K. and European institutional clients
later this year. Zodia is seeking similar permissions from the FCA
to operate in the country, and said it expects to launch
commercially in the second half of 2021.
Website: www.fnlondon.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 29, 2021 06:05 ET (10:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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