Nasdaq Inc., one of the world's largest operators of equity exchanges, said it would consider launching a cryptocurrency exchange in the future if the regulatory environment is conducive to such a move.
“The view that cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin BTC=BTSP will be a future way to support commerce is becoming more mainstream, Nasdaq's Chief Executive Officer, Adena Friedman, said in an interview following the announcement of better-than-expected quarterly earnings,” reports Reuters.
Previously, it has been reported that Nasdaq would join Cboe Group and CME in launching bitcoin futures. Cboe and CME did that in December with some market observers speculating Nasdaq could follow suit in the current quarter. Earlier this year, Nasdaq said it would like to introduce bitcoin futures that are different from rivals' offerings, but did not unveil a timeline for launch.
Waiting On Regulation
At the user level, part of the allure of digital currencies is the decentralized and unregulated nature of the business, but more regulations are required for financial services firms to get involved. Banks and exchange operators like Nasdaq are regulated at the federal level and the current lack of federal regulations pertaining to the cryptocurrency market makes it almost impossible for these companies to crypto trading services to clients.
“But the virtual currencies are still very lightly regulated. That is part of the appeal to many early adopters but would have to change in order for Nasdaq to operate a cryptocurrency exchange, Friedman said,” according to Reuters.
On Wednesday, Nasdaq announced a surveillance partnership with Gemini. Gemini said “that over the coming months we will be implementing Nasdaq’s SMARTS Market Surveillance technology to monitor our marketplace.”
Gemini currently offers trading in biticoin and ethereum, but there has been some speculation the exchange could expand to offer other digital currencies. Currently, Gemini clients can trade the following pairs: BTC/USD, ETH/USD, and ETH/BTC.