#seedcx

[nanobank]

#LedgerX is going to get ahead of #Bakkt with the launch of deliverable #bitcoin futures and serve any clients, not just institutional ones. "There is every chance that the #CFTC will approve the LedgerX application before its competitors in the face of Bakkt, #SeedCX and #ErisX" (at Atlantic City, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwrHjDBgL9T/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ottm134oed1r

[crypscrow]

#dailycryptoupdate #cryptonews #crypscrow #ciphertrace #scout #investigations #seedcx #cryptotradewar #slashfees #tomlee #bakkt #institutions #crypto.com #compliance #wallet #malware #electronicarts #tweet #justinsun #capitalized #tron https://www.instagram.com/p/B2qRTvigKbZ/?igshid=1bpfbu5gqhifu

[bitlabsco]

Seed CX Announces the Launch of PAX, USD Coin & TrueUSD @ bitLabs.co #cryptocurrency #pax #seedcx #stablecoin #trueusdtusd #blockchain #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #crypto #blockchainnews #fintech #bitlabs

[cryptominingbro]

Ещё одна биржа крипто-деривативов получила одобрение CFTC

https://crypto-hunter.info/eshhjo-odna-birzha-kripto-derivativov-poluchila-odobrenie-cftc/

Ещё одна биржа крипто-деривативов получила одобрение CFTC

Биржа деривативов криптовалют Tassat, ранее известная как trueDigital, получила одобрение Комиссии по торговле товарными фьючерсами США (CFTC) на запуск физически обоснованных свопов на марже биткойнов.

Согласно объявлению, опубликованному CFTC, оно одобрило передачу регистрации механизма исполнения свопов (SEF) от компании trueEX LLC в Tassat в этом месяце, примерно через четыре месяца после того, как компании достигли «принципиального соглашения» по этому вопросу. TrueEX была зарегистрирована в SEF еще в 2016 году.

Объявление CFTC гласит:

TrueEX и Tassat выполнили требование для передачи регистрации SEF, продемонстрировав, что Tassat будет соблюдать положения Закона о товарной бирже и CFTC, применимые к SEF после передачи регистрации. В настоящее время зарегистрировано 19 SEF, включая Tassat.

Tassat — не единственная крипто-производная биржа, которая может предложить эти продукты клиентам. Ранее в этом году LedgerX получил одобрение CFTC на запуск физически рассчитанных фьючерсных контрактов на ��иткойны после регистрации в CFTC в качестве механизма исполнения свопов и организации клиринга деривативов (DCO) с июля 2017 года.

Tassat еще не раскрыл дату запуска своих физически обоснованных свопов на марже биткойнов, но сказал, что «активно привлекает институциональных участников», одновременно тестируя предложение. Выпуск продукта биткойн-свопов позволит ему конкурировать с SeedCX, который тестирует аналогичное предложение с августа и планирует запустить его в этом году.

Фирма, основанная в 2018 году, была особенно активна в криптовалютном пространстве. Это помогло Signature Bank запустить свою систему платежей через блокчейн Signet, и в партнерстве с Inca Digital Securities и Kaiko он увидел, что его внебиржевые (OTC) эталонные ставки на биткойны и эфиры достигают более широкой аудитории.

[btcmanager]

SeedCX Subsidiaries Secure New York BitLicense 

SeedCX Subsidiaries Secure New York BitLicense 

Seed CX, a regulated bitcoin trading platform for professionals, has achieved a significant feat in its development, as two of its subsidiaries, Seed Digital Commodities market LLC (SCXM) and Zero Hash LLC, have obtained virtual currency licenses from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Securing the BitLicense will enable SCXM to functionRead More

https://btcmanager.com/seedcx-new-york-bitlicense/?utm_source=Tumblr&utm_medium=socialpush&utm_campaign=SNAP

[deb-markethive]

IBM Blockchain team reportedly spared worst of firm's layoffs as it redoubles DLT efforts

New Post has been published on http://blog.hodlthrive.com/?p=472

IBM Blockchain team reportedly spared worst of firm's layoffs as it redoubles DLT efforts

IBM Blockchain team reportedly spared worst of firm’s layoffs as it redoubles DLT efforts

                              Quick Take

Despite IBM dismissing nearly 2,000 employees earlier this month, sources say the firm’s blockchain division escaped any dramatic cuts

Those who were affected were reportedly confined to the consulting side of the blockchain business

Separately, the blockchain project last month saw the departure of one of its leads, Jesse Lund

For all the criticism IBM’s Blockchain project has faced over the years, its ability to grow – and maintain – its team may be one area where it excels. Although IBM laid off 1,700 employees earlier this month, only a “very tiny, tiny percentage” of them came from the blockchain operation, sources close to the team told The Block. “The product team had no layoffs, there was nothing out of development. It was very limited on the blockchain side,” one source who has direct contact with the Blockchain division said. 

While IBM declined to give specific details about the degree to which the layoffs had impacted its blockchain operation, Jerry Cuomo, VP of IBM Blockchain Technology, told The Block: “Blockchain skills are the priority…And we’re full-steam ahead of blockchain.” He added: “We plan to grow for a very long time.” Indeed, a quick search of online job-postings reveals blockchain jobs a-plenty at IBM across the world – from Australia to India. This corroborates with the firm saying it wanted to focus its hiring efforts in new businesses like “analytics, security and blockchain,” and that the layoffs elsewhere were part of a “realignment plan.“

That does not mean the blockchain division escaped any culling, however. Another source reported a handful of layoffs on the services (or consulting) side of the blockchain business, but confirmed the engineering side had been kept intact. The consulting arm is one of the blockchain team’s three pillars and reportedly its main “cash-cow.” It is, however, unrelated to the raw technological side of the business, which encompasses the IBM Blockchain Platform and the IBM Solutions products, which cover the Food Trust Network and the Stellar partnership.  

IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of software developer Red Hat is also set to close. Sources suggested this may lead to more changes in the blockchain team in the near future, as Red Hat’s 13,000-strong team joins IBM’s Hybrid Cloud unit. Red Hat developers are set to work alongside and to utilise IBM’s blockchain team.

Article Produced By Isabel Woodford

Isabel is The Block’s London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel’s brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/06/20/ibm-blockchain-team-reportedly-spared-worst-of-firms-layoffs-as-it-redoubles-dlt-efforts/

Deb Williams (hodlthrive)

[michaelbennettcrypto]

Bear Market Will Stop Crypto Exchanges Faking Volume, Says Researcher

A report by the Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI) claims that many exchanges are using bots to fake trading volume. Their research shows that wash trading affects over 80% of the top 25 bitcoin pairings. Furthermore, allegations of this being a deliberate business practice present significant concerns for the industry. Which is already struggling to gain mainstream acceptance.

Wash Trading

Wash trading is where a trader sells and then immediately buys a financial instrument. This practice manipulates legitimate makers and takers into believing a trading pair is more active than it is. The federal government outlawed wash trading with the Commodities Exchange Act in 1936. But this ruling does not apply to cryptocurrencies, that mostly trade on unregulated exchanges. Therefore, as much as the practice is shady, it is not illegal. On that note, investment house CoVenture says:

“For crypto markets to mature, smarter regulation needs to be implemented in order for more established traditional exchanges to enter the space. As more trading venues open and more financial derivatives are offered, we think that liquidity can ‘flush out’ a portion of the bad actors in the space as well as bring ‘institutional legitimacy’ into the markets.”

Why Do Exchanges Participate In Wash Trading?

Competition amongst the exchanges is fierce. They are under pressure to seek high-margin activities outside the scope of traditional financial regulations. These activities rely on high volume which equates to higher listing fees and liquidity. Eventually, traders become drawn to higher-volume exchanges, which then facilitates the listing of more trading pairs, creating a cycle of growth.

What a sorry state of affairs crypto is right now.

-Volume at record lows -Unresolved Tether fiasco -Governments increasingly cracking down -Exchanges laying off employees -FRAUD – P&D – Insider/Wash Trading -No institutional money even though they can get in now

MOON SOON!

— Bitfinex Parody (@Bitfinex2) October 21, 2018

Not only that, but being listed on an exchange is a costly expense for a project. BTI’s research shows that the average project spends over $50,000 for the privilege of being listed. With many of these exchanges existing solely to collect these fees. In an interview with The Block, CEO of Coinroutes, Dave Weisberger said:

“If you’re faking volume, you’re doing it for one of two reasons. You’re doing it to get listing fees, so the founders can get rich off of the poor sods buying the coin thinking there’s interest. Or because you bought the coin and you want the price to go higher. In both cases, you’re committing fraud.”

Are The Wheels Falling Off?

Wash trading is a stain on the crypto industry, and not enough is being done to stamp out the practice. Some industry experts claim the bear market is a natural mechanism for removing bad actors from the space. And with reports of crypto exchanges struggling, this would seem to be the case. Moreover, it makes interesting reading to see that Bithumb, who recently announced the halving of its workforce, top the BTI’s advisory list.

Chintan Sheth, a researcher at SeedCX, said:

“I expect more consolidation going on with exchanges, with hundreds of exchanges out there, and massive volume reductions across the board from 2018, it makes sense why they’ve resorted to wash trading. It’s only a matter of time where they can’t keep up with expenses and they fold over, eventually you’ll have just actual flow.”

The post Bear Market Will Stop Crypto Exchanges Faking Volume, Says Researcher appeared first on NewsBTC.

from Cryptocracken WP https://ift.tt/2TqAlAe via IFTTT

[brettzjacksonblog]

Bear Market Will Stop Crypto Exchanges Faking Volume, Says Researcher

A report by the Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI) claims that many exchanges are using bots to fake trading volume. Their research shows that wash trading affects over 80% of the top 25 bitcoin pairings. Furthermore, allegations of this being a deliberate business practice present significant concerns for the industry. Which is already struggling to gain mainstream acceptance.

Wash Trading

Wash trading is where a trader sells and then immediately buys a financial instrument. This practice manipulates legitimate makers and takers into believing a trading pair is more active than it is. The federal government outlawed wash trading with the Commodities Exchange Act in 1936. But this ruling does not apply to cryptocurrencies, that mostly trade on unregulated exchanges. Therefore, as much as the practice is shady, it is not illegal. On that note, investment house CoVenture says:

“For crypto markets to mature, smarter regulation needs to be implemented in order for more established traditional exchanges to enter the space. As more trading venues open and more financial derivatives are offered, we think that liquidity can ‘flush out’ a portion of the bad actors in the space as well as bring ‘institutional legitimacy’ into the markets.”

Why Do Exchanges Participate In Wash Trading?

Competition amongst the exchanges is fierce. They are under pressure to seek high-margin activities outside the scope of traditional financial regulations. These activities rely on high volume which equates to higher listing fees and liquidity. Eventually, traders become drawn to higher-volume exchanges, which then facilitates the listing of more trading pairs, creating a cycle of growth.

What a sorry state of affairs crypto is right now.

-Volume at record lows -Unresolved Tether fiasco -Governments increasingly cracking down -Exchanges laying off employees -FRAUD – P&D – Insider/Wash Trading -No institutional money even though they can get in now

MOON SOON!

— Bitfinex Parody (@Bitfinex2) October 21, 2018

Not only that, but being listed on an exchange is a costly expense for a project. BTI’s research shows that the average project spends over $50,000 for the privilege of being listed. With many of these exchanges existing solely to collect these fees. In an interview with The Block, CEO of Coinroutes, Dave Weisberger said:

“If you’re faking volume, you’re doing it for one of two reasons. You’re doing it to get listing fees, so the founders can get rich off of the poor sods buying the coin thinking there’s interest. Or because you bought the coin and you want the price to go higher. In both cases, you’re committing fraud.”

Are The Wheels Falling Off?

Wash trading is a stain on the crypto industry, and not enough is being done to stamp out the practice. Some industry experts claim the bear market is a natural mechanism for removing bad actors from the space. And with reports of crypto exchanges struggling, this would seem to be the case. Moreover, it makes interesting reading to see that Bithumb, who recently announced the halving of its workforce, top the BTI’s advisory list.

Chintan Sheth, a researcher at SeedCX, said:

“I expect more consolidation going on with exchanges, with hundreds of exchanges out there, and massive volume reductions across the board from 2018, it makes sense why they’ve resorted to wash trading. It’s only a matter of time where they can’t keep up with expenses and they fold over, eventually you’ll have just actual flow.”

The post Bear Market Will Stop Crypto Exchanges Faking Volume, Says Researcher appeared first on NewsBTC.

from CryptoCracken SMFeed https://ift.tt/2TqAlAe via IFTTT

[bestblockchainby-blog]

Coinbase: инсайдерская история о противостоянии криптовалютных «старичков» и выходцев с Уолл-стрит

Многим криптовалютным энтузиастам середина 2018 года кажется прошлым веком. В те лихие времена объем капитализации криптовалютного рынка составлял 300 миллиардов долларов. По слухам, на этот самый рынок собирались выйти крупнейшие инвестиционные банки вроде Goldman Sachs, а сеть бирж и клиринговых палат Intercontinental Exchange радостно рапортовала о своих планах по запуску платформы Bakkt, которая должна была стать своего рода Нью-Йоркской фондовой биржей в мире криптовалют. С тех пор объемы рынка сократились в два раза, а конкретные планы Goldman Sachs в отношении цифровых валют остаются неясными, равно как и дата запуска Bakkt. Многое изменилось и для Coinbase, некогда занимавшей передовые позиции среди бирж. В 2018 году ее команда ставила перед собой амбициозные цели по привлечению самых опытных инвесторов с Уолл-стрит и самых быстрых трейдеров. Теперь же компания, объем капитализации которой недавно достиг отметки в 8 миллиардов долларов, вновь переключилась с Нью-Йорка на родной Сан-Франциско. Иными словами, вместо Goldman Sachs и BlackRock команду теперь интересуют криптовалютные фонды вроде Pantera и Polychain. По словам знакомых с ситуацией источников, фирма пересмотрела свои прошлогодние цели по созданию прайм-брокера уровня Уолл-стрит. По удивительному стечению обстоятельств, ветеран Уолл-стрит Джонатан Кельнер, возглавлявший брокерскую компанию-гиганта Instinet, отказался от своих планов по работе с Coinbase. Эту информацию подтвердил пресс-секретарь компании. Как ранее сообщал портал The Block, планировалось, что Кельнер присоединится к проекту в этом году и возглавит направление институциональных продаж и поддержки. Это событие должно было стать самым громким в криптовалютной среде случаем найма специалиста с Уолл-стрит. Кельнеру предстояло применить свой опыт в процессе интеграции брокерской фирмы Keystone, о покупке которой Coinbase сообщала в июне 2018 года, в более обширную бизнес-структуру. Спектр его задач включал в себя создание вышеупомянутого прайм-брокера Coinbase Prime и внебиржевую торговлю. Комментарии по поводу выхода Кельнера из проекта отказались как он сам, так и пресс-секретарь Coinbase. «Джонатан – выдающийся лидер, но смена курса была для нас верным решением, — отметил Дэн Ромеро, перешедший с поста вице-президента по управлению международным бизнесом на должность главы институционального направления в декабре прошлого года. – Криптовалютная отрасль развивается невероятно быстро, и так же быстро могут меняться и рыночные условия. Мы переориентируемся на криптовалютные фонды».

Как мы здесь оказались?

Для некоторых наблюдателей расставание Coinbase с Кельнером и Уолл-стрит стало сюрпризом. В июне Адам Уайт, большую часть года возглавлявший в проекте институциональное направление, рассказывал Bloomberg о планах биржи извлечь выгоду из «волны институционального капитала, ожидающего в стороне». Впрочем, он также подчеркнул, что перед этим проекту необходимо будет обеспечить привычную для подобных учреждений инфраструктуру. В сентябре Уайт сообщил CoinDesk, что фирма активно нанимает людей с Уолл-стрит с целью «преодолеть разрыв между сферами финансовых услуг и технологий». «Нам нужно взять на вооружение знания и опыт лучших и ярчайших умов, которые на протяжении всей своей карьеры работали в традиционных финансовых фирмах иного рода», — отметил Уайт. В рамках этой стратегии компания наняла Кристин Сэндлер из банка Barclays, которой предстояло стать соруководителем направления институциональных продаж, а также Эрика Скро с Нью-Йоркской фондовой биржи, ныне занимающего должность главы департамента по работе с инвесторами. К работе над институциональными продажами также привлекли «ветерана» JPMorgan Опуту Эзедиаро. Несмотря на это, по сведениям упомянутых ранее источников, в последние месяцы реализации стратегии Уайта мешало мощное сопротивление со стороны старшего менеджмента Coinbase: по крайней мере некоторые из руководителей считали, что в контекте медвежьего рынка фокусироваться на Уолл-стрит бессмысленно. Подобное положение дел объясняется тем, что работа с инвестиционными фирмами высшего эшелона потребовала бы от прайм-брокеров больших ресурсов, нежели от криптовалютных фондов. Это касается и дорогостоящей поддержки в освоении новой сферы, и более широкого спектра услуг, в том числе деривативов, инструментов хеджирования и гарантийных взносов в биржевых сделках. В качестве примера можно взять хедж-фонд вроде Point72: в ��ирмах подобного рода существует множество контактных лиц, отвечающих за различные задачи вроде перемещения средств и выполнения сделок, и Coinbase пришлось бы с ними сотрудничать, в то время как компании вроде Polychain могут иметь всего одного сотрудника, который будет вести работу по всей вертикали единолично. По словам аналитика консалтинговой компании Greenwich Associates Ричарда Джонсона, криптовалютные хедж-фонды искусно лавируют на своем рынке без соблюдения сложных требований, существующих на Уолл-стрит. «Человеку вроде Джонатана Кельнера пришлось бы много работать, чтобы найти иголку в стоге сена – компанию, которая захотела бы инвестировать в криптовалюты на данном этапе, — отметил Джонсон. – В последние полгода ситуация развивалась не слишком удачным образом. Люди продолжают инвестировать, но я думаю, что сконцентрироваться на криптовалютной стороне вопроса было разумным решением». «Около 20% всех хедж-фондов, запущенных в 2018 году, были в первую очередь криптовалютными, — говорит Дэн Ромеро. – Размышляя о том, где сейчас находится отрасль, нужно помнить, что эти фонды играют решающую роль. Именно их инвестиции заложат фундамент для следующего «бычьего» цикла». Впрочем, стоит также отметить, что криптовалютные фонды оказались в непростой ситуации. Многие компании, имеющие отношение к Биткойну, стали свидетелями обрушения своих капиталов на медвежьем рынке и судебных исков со стороны партнеров с ограниченной ответственностью. Американские регулирующие органы, в свою очередь, вызывали в суд инвесторов в ICO. «Нынешний медвежий рынок семимильными шагами движется от отметки «плохо» в сторону отметки «еще хуже», и это касается как криптовалютных фондов, так и ICO, — отметил глава криптовалютной инвестиционной фирмы Morgan Creek Digital Энтони Помплиано в своем ноябрьском письме, адресованном сторонникам и клиентам. – Возможно, многие предприниматели и управляющие фондами никогда не сталкивались с болью, подобной той, что ждет нас впереди». Уайт отказался давать комментарии для этой статьи. В 2018 году он ушел из Coinbase и присоединился к бирже Bakkt, которая планирует в этом году представить привязанные к Биткойну фьючерсы.

А как же насчет денег институциональных инвесторов?

Представители Coinbase не сомневаются в их наличии, равно как и другие игроки рынка, включая CEO криптовалютной биржи SeedCX Эдварда Вудфорда. По его словам, интерес со стороны институциональных игроков высок и продолжает расти. «Звучало много громких заявлений, но организации, которые действительно заходят на рынок, не привлекают к этому чрезмерного внимания, — говорит Вудфорд. – На фоне нормализации цен и доходов изменились и их запросы». Ромеро, в свою очередь, утверждает, что в долгосрочной перспективе Coinbase по-прежнему интересует сотрудничество с Уолл-стрит, и этому не помешает даже тот факт, что на текущий момент «акцент несколько сместился с ведущих финансовых брендов на другие вещи». По его словам, эти изменения никоим образом не скажутся на услугах, оказываемых Coinbase: биржа продолжает развивать свои проекты в Чикаго и ведет депозитарную деятельность. Не отказывается компания и от планов по дальнейшему развитию институционального направления, однако для удовлетворения своих новых амбиций руководство фирмы намерено нанять более разнородную команду. Трейдер Techemy Capital Джош Ольшевич считает этот план разумным и соответствующим основам компании Coinbase. «По большей части фирма уделяет внимание совсем не финансам, — считает эксперт. – Да, их бэкграунд в некотором роде связан с финтехом, но из-за стремления двигаться в сотнях разных направлений одновременно ослабевают и качество, и бренд». Что касается выхода Кельнера из проекта, то некоторые наблюдатели восприняли эту новость со скепсисом. «Это большая потеря для Coinbase, — говорит CEO компании CoinRoutes Дэвид Вайсбергер. – Джонатан смог бы на интуитивном уровне понять все конфликты интересов, возникающие при управлении бизнесом, который занимается одновременно клирингом, депозатирной деятельностью, мэтчингом и трейдингом». Вайсбергер не сбрасывает новую стратегию со счетов, но предупреждает, что отказ от работы в направлении Уолл-стрит приведет к тому, что кусок пирога Coinbase достанется его конкурентам, нацеленным на работу с институциональным направлением, в том числе Bakkt, ErisX или SeedCX. «Их проблема и по совместительству единственное существенное отличие Силиконовой долины от Уолл-стрит заключается в том, что последней благодаря финансовым рынкам удалось усвоить необходимость атмосферы сотрудничества, — говорит глава CoinRoutes. – Стремление конкурировать любой ценой и не уступить конкурентам ни копейки в борьбе за звание Facebook или Uber в своей области, — проигрышная стратегия». «Даже криптовалютные хедж-фонды хотят вести торговлю на рынках, в честность которых они верят, и иметь разумную возможность добиться наилучшего исполнения, — продолжает эксперт. – Эту схему невозможно реализовать путем торговли только на одной бирже».

Binance

Тем не менее, в сфере пирингового криптовалютного трейдинга, вероятно, заправляют вовсе не симпатии Bakkt в отношении Coinbase, а лидирующий в своем сегменте гигант Binance. «Binance несравнимо опережает Coinbase по многим фронтам», — говорит Ольшевич. Сейчас на этой платформе представлено 150 различных токенов, и она занимает главенствующие позиции в трейдинге на азиатском рынке: в прошлом месяце суммарный оборот торгов составил 19 миллиардов долларов против 3,2 миллиарда у Coinbase. Ромеро утверждает, что криптовалютные фонды заинтересованы в передовых активах, в то время как традиционные фирмы с Уолл-стрит волнует в основном Биткойн. По словам эксперта, Coinbase планирует расширить не только спектр представленных на платформе коинов, но и охват рынка. «Всем нужны глубокая ликвидность и быстрая перепродажа ценных бумаг, и я не думаю, что для криптовалютных фондов ситуация обстоит как-то иначе. За пределами США ведется активная торговля, и мы хотели бы выйти на международный рынок и получить свою долю в Европе и Азии», говорит Ромеро. Главный вопрос 2019 года заключается в том, удастся ли некогда блиставшим криптовалютным фирмам победить «медведя» до того, как он победит их. Источник Read the full article

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A New Exchange Launches, Letting Institutions Custody Their Own Crypto

A new crypto exchange for institutional investors is launching this month with an unusual approach to custody.

LGO Markets, based in New Jersey, officially launched Monday with limited functionality, allowing new users to set up and fund their accounts. However, spot trading in bitcoin will start on March 11.

According to CEO Hugo Renaudin, the company has secured 10 institutional clients already – mostly over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks, plus several hedge funds, crypto businesses and market makers. Another 56 clients are in the process of onboarding, he said.

The firm will soon face stiff competition, with large financial players like Fidelity Investments and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange planning to launch institutional crypto trading platforms this year, not to mention the already-live up-and-comer SeedCX. But Renaudin said he sees plenty of potential clients out there.

“There are roughly 400 institutional clients that are currently trading in the cryptocurrency market,” Renaudin told CoinDesk. “We estimated this by talking to the crypto-friendly banks. Among these 400, it’s mostly hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, OTC brokers, a few family offices, asset managers and purely crypto players like lending providers that consider trading bitcoin as a part of their business.”

The LGO Markets team is a mix of youthful entrepreneurs and seasoned finance professionals. Renaudin, for example, interned at BlackRock and Societe Generale before joining the blockchain startup BitSpread and then LGO. Yet the firm also recruited Bank of America’s former director of prime brokerage sales, Camilla Churcher, to be the startup’s head of sales.

To finance development of the platform, LGO’s French branch raised 3,600 bitcoin (roughly $32.5 million at the time) through an ICO in February 2018, when it was known as Legolas Exchange, Renaudin said.

The ICO was conducted in compliance with French law and excluded U.S. residents, but sold tokens to 9,000 retail buyers from more than 50 countries. Eventually, the native LGO token will be used to pay trading fees at the exchange, though that won’t be the case for some time after the launch.

But what may truly set this exchange apart from other institutional-focused players is that it will not hold clients’ funds in either bitcoin or fiat.

Three’s a trade

To start trading on LGO Markets, a client will need to set up a multi-signature wallet that requires two out of three private keys to move funds. One key is controlled by the client, the second one is held by LGO Markets and the third by a Swiss company, Altcoinomy, which will serve as a clearinghouse.

Users will also need an account with Signature Bank, which will serve as LGO Markets’ fiat on-ramp. To send fiat for the bitcoin they buy, they will use Signet, a blockchain-based settlement system the bank launched in December. (Signature’s spokesperson said it is the bank’s policy not to comment “on vendor or client relationships.”)

To sell their bitcoin, users will need to sign a trade with their own key, then wait for LGO Markets to pass the information to the clearing firm and for the clearing firm to sign the trade with its key and settle it. It’s Altcoinomy, not LGO itself, that will be responsible for moving bitcoin and fiat between the users’ accounts.

Renaudin said that if LGO moved funds itself, it would pose a “conflict of interest” and too much risk for big clients. Maintaining their own custody, on the other hand, will mean they are always in control of their funds and don’t need to care if the exchange fails in any way.

As he put it:

“Even if, say, we get hacked or I die like the guy from QuadrigaCX, or the office gets burnt down, the clients still can retrieve their funds, because with their own keys and the keys of the clearing firm they can move their funds and go back to their normal life.”

To bolster its credibility with institutional investors, LGO will be audited by PwC — a “Big Four” auditor that has recently been actively involved with the crypto space and this year announced it will audit the Tezos Foundation. (PwC declined to comment on the LGO relationship.)

Semi-decentralized

LGO’s model combines elements of centralized and decentralized exchanges (DEXs).

Like on a DEX, clients will store their funds independently, but the order book will run on a central server and the trades will be settled by the clearing firm. At the same time, all orders, once signed by Altcoinomy, will get broadcast to the bitcoin network and recorded on the blockchain, timestamped and visible to everyone. This will eliminate the risk of LGO front-running its own clients, Renaudin says.

Renaudin emphasized that execution, clearing and settlement at LGO will be done separately — the way it is done with traditional securities trading. While some think the old-fashioned way is too cumbersome and should be streamlined with blockchain technology, Renaudin maintained that mimicking the traditional markets will give institutional clients the level of security they need to trust crypto trading.

“If you’re a large hedge fund or asset manager and you want to trade on Coinbase, you cannot apply the same control as you would use with the traditional trading. And we allow them to apply the same processes as to any other asset class,” he said.

Another advantage compared to existing crypto exchanges, Renaudin said, is that, as only institutional investors will be trading at LGO Markets, big orders won’t move the price as dramatically because all trades will be big. “You want to have a large trade but you don’t want the price to slip because you don’t have enough liquidity,” he said.

However, LGO plans to launch a separate trading service for retail investors in the second half of the year, Renaudin said. (The exchange has applied for a New York BitLicense, a FINRA broker-dealer license and a National Futures Association introducing broker license.)

Further, he said he sees this bifurcation of the markets as temporary, concluding:

“The promise of the blockchain technology applied to financial markets is a perfectly scalable market infrastructure and direct market access for every participant. … So it makes sense in the short term to create a platform for Fidelity and a platform for John Smith, and potentially join them together in the long term – not just for cryptocurrencies but for any kind of tokenized asset.”

Hugo Renaudin image via Anna Baydakova for CoinDesk

This news post is collected from CoinDesk

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Chicago Fast Becoming Bitcoin ATM Hot Spot with 30 New Machines

It is no secret that Chicago’s history is intertwined with finance. It therefore comes as little surprise that the city seems to be embracing the coming Bitcoin and cryptocurrency revolution too.

Already home to proportionately large numbers of Bitcoin ATMs, Chicago is about to get a lot more, courtesy of Lux Vending. The decision was made to target the city based on its higher-than-average cryptocurrency adoption rates.

New Bitcoin ATMs Coming to Crypto-Friendly Chicago

According to a report in Chicago Business, the city is about to receive an additional 30 cryptocurrency ATMs. These will be provided by Lux Vending under the brand, Bitcoin Depot.

The new terminals will allow customers to trade physical dollars for Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital assets. They will join an ever-growing number of such machines in the city. However, Bitcoin Depot are not alone in providing ATMs to Chicago. Other startups have already setup shop in the area.

These include Red Leaf Chicago, who own 60 of the city’s machines. This represents 30% of their 200 machines currently operational across 21 states. Alongside Bitcoin Depot and Red Leaf Chicago is Athena Bitcoin. This startup only owns three ATMs in Chicago since it has set its sights further afield at the international market – particularly in South America, where digital assets are constantly gaining in popularity, largely through necessity.

Despite not choosing to target the city as heavily as others have done, the CEO of Athena Bitcoin, Eric Gravengaard, told Chicago Business that he could see why the location was popular based on “a large degree of adoption.”

The adoption that Gravengaard is referring to is largely driven by Chicago’s vibrant history with the financial industry. This has helped the city embrace cryptocurrency too. Such an embrace is particularly evidenced by the fact that local traditional exchange companies CBOE Global Markets and the CME Group both launched the United States’s first Bitcoin futures contracts late in 2017, at the height of that year’s bull run.

Other signs of Chicago’s warming to cryptocurrency include the large base of operations Coinbase has in the city and the number of crypto-related startups from there, such as ErisX and SeedCX – both of which are developing trading platforms of their own.

Could Bitcoin ATMs Drive Adoption More?

Although the proliferation of Bitcoin ATMs is certainly a net positive for the industry, they may not be as good for adoption as they appear on face value. This is because of the fees they charge. Bitcoin Depot machines reportedly require users to pay between ten and twenty percent of the total amount of dollars they wish to exchange for Bitcoin. Evidently, this is a large problem and will limit the use of such machines.

Bitcoin ATMs are becoming more commonplace globally. Do they really drive adoption though?

Take this, along with the fact that only 30% of Bitcoin Depot machines actually allow users to sell cryptocurrency back to the terminal, and it is very difficult to see a use case for the ATMs being installed in Chicago and elsewhere around the globe. There are many other ways that are just as quick and convenient to get exposure to digital assets. It does not matter what the purpose of that exposure is – shopping online or investing – no one wants between ten and twenty percent of their purchase amount to be immediately taken to cover fees.

  Related Reading: Major Milestone: New York Licenses Bitcoin ATMs, Now Fully Regulated

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Despite Bear Market, Crypto Startups Got Boosted By Billions In 2018

Taking a brief gander at crypto’s daily trading volumes, it is more than apparent that the number of investors, along with capital allocated, has all but dissipated over the course of 2018. Some have even argued that Bitcoin has left the mainstream consciousness, and could potentially be on its last legs.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Rally To Be Preceded By More “Crypto Is Dead,” Layoffs, Regulation, Says Investor

Chris Burniske, a partner at Placeholder Ventures, once explained that the days “cryptocurrency” and “blockchain” were plastered all over mainstream media, as CoinMarketCap sat open on the smartphones and laptops of millions the world over are long gone.

VC Deals in 2018 (Source: Diar)

In fact, more likely than not, retail investors en-masse have removed CoinMarketCap from their bookmark list, purged their Coinbase and Binance accounts, and unfollowed crypto’s most eccentric commentators on Twitter.

But, venture capitalists have kept their ears to the cryptocurrency ground, taking the lack of public interest in this asset class to their advantage. Face it, this subset of the investing realm is entirely opportunistic. And from their perspective, if Bitcoin and related technologies are to succeed over the long haul, now is arguably the perfect time to build solid portfolios, which accentuate asymmetric risk/return profiles.

Equity Was Hot, Even As Bitcoin Plunged

Research completed by Diar, a crypto analytics publication, recently confirmed that while the lackluster (understatement) performance of the Bitcoin price has deterred all but the zaniest traders, venture groups and investor groups of similar caliber have kept their proverbial pedals to the metal.

In the publication’s most recent edition, it was explained that while 2018 was a “bloodbath for cryptocurrencies,” what Diar deemed “blockchain-led” operations secured $1.6 billion in fiat investment over yesteryear.

We've published our latest issue for your read:#Bitcoin Retail Investor Holdings Continue Incremental Growth Major #Cryptocurrency Miners Banking on Empty Blocks#Blockchain Focused VCs Setup Intertwined Financial Infrastructure@coinbase Lists XRPhttps://t.co/iOrtZzL9VP

— Diar (@DiarNewsletter) February 25, 2019

Diar claims that since stakes in cryptocurrency startups became a viable investment vehicle, $5 billion has been siphoned into such opportunities — no small sum to say the least. Interestingly, the $1.6 billion the crypto war chest saw comes it way in 2018 primarily pertained to trading infrastructure, rather than blockchain projects in and of themselves.

Coinbase, Circle, Kraken, three notable American cryptocurrency service providers, raised $500 million collectively even “long after the bubble burst.” Bakkt and its competitors, in ErisX and SeedCX, have also secured hundreds of millions, as many, including Fundstrat Global Advisors, argue that proper regulated, institution-friendly, and multi-faceted fiat on-ramps and off-ramps is currently something curbing this space.

Interestingly, the trend of equity investing has continued into 2019.

According to previous reports from this outlet, Chainalysis, a blockchain research and software provider startup, secured $30 million in its recent Series B, led by the San Francisco-based Accel Ventures, which also has a stake in Circle. Chainalysis, which actively aids American governmental agencies (Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, etc.) in crypto-related cases, is looking to bolster its staffer lineup and European operations with this funding influx.

Coin Metrics, a Bitcoin-centric blockchain research unit based out of Massachusetts, recently raised $1.9 million, as it seeks to make much-needed information available to a wider population, thus increasing the health of this nascent space.

Kraken itself even made a nine-figure deal, completing the biggest industry deal of 2019 so far. The company acquired CryptoFacilities, a European Bitcoin derivatives provider, to start its foray into the array of alternative investment products. The details of the deal were scant, but it was explained that Facilitates gained at least $100 million from its business partner.

Institutions Continue Bolstering Crypto Holdings

Although much of crypto startups have garnered capital from Silicon Valley venture groups, like the world-renowned Andreessen Horowitz, this jaw-dropping funding figure has hints of institutional involvement sprinkled throughout.

Case in point, citing a number of sources familiar with the matter, Singapore’s primary sovereign wealth fund, GIC, purportedly participated in Coinbase’s historic $300 million funding round that concluded in October 2018. For those who missed the memo, this round, which valued the now-XRP-friendly Coinbase at $8 billion, was led by Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz. So interestingly, Singapore’s involvement in the San Francisco-based company wasn’t initially disclosed.

GIC isn’t the only incumbent of legacy finance to have allocated millions to the Bitcoin cause. Bakkt’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), gave its cryptocurrency foray hundreds of millions in capital, as it nears its launch.

The University of Michigan’s endowment, valued at a hefty $12 billion, was recently revealed to have its eyes set on giving a hefty cheque to a16z, specifically for its CNK fund that invests in blockchain ventures.

And arguably most notably, two pension funds headquartered in Fairfax County, Virginia, were the principals behind Morgan Creek Digital’s $40 million venture fund, which has up to a 10% allocation in physical cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as the remaining capital gets siphoned into equity deals with promising projects with visions of grandeur.

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