Talk about a rapidly expanding market. Fintech "startup" Circle, which clears and executes trades for institutions in cryptocurrencies, has doubled its minimum order size to $500K. And that's in a bear market selloff. The previous minimum was $250K which was raised from $100K when I began talking with them months ago. That's a pretty rapid rise in institutional activity.
Circle's average ticket size now is $1M and they are doing over $2 billion worth of OTC trades a month. Not only is the institutional trading activity expanding at Circle, they have also launched Circle Invest, an app allowing commission free trades (which we personally have on our iPhone and love), and they also acquired Poloniex, another crypto exchange.
So, while many folks are still skeptical using words like "scam", "fraud" and "bubble" for bitcoin (cryptos), the "smart in front of the crowd" innovators are expanding along with the market. Go Circle.
(Bill Taylor/Managing Editor)
"The market is robust.”
That’s how Jeremy Allaire, chief executive of fintech startup Circle, described the nascent institutional cryptocurrency trading market, which he says has grown dramatically in 2018 even as prices entered a bear cycle.
Speaking with Business Insider, Allaire said that Circle Trade — the company’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk — has doubled its minimum order size in recent weeks, though most trades are much larger.
“The minimum ticket size has moved up to $500,000 with an average of $1 million,” he said.
Previously, Circle Trade’s minimum order size had been set at $250,000, with the firm reporting that it was handling about $2 billion worth of OTC trades per month.
OTC trading is crucial for increased institutional adoption of cryptoassets, as these platforms allow traders to execute large orders outside of conventional exchanges, where a large order may cause a violent price swing that ripples throughout the global markets....
...Allaire said that Circle, which has received financial backing from Goldman Sachs, has processed individual trades in excess of $100 million...
...A variety of platforms offer OTC trading for institutional clients, and the number continues to expand as large firms begin to dip their toes into this asset class..."
Source: CCN.com