TD Ameritrade Following Fidelity Into Bitcoin?

Another huge brokerage giant (TD Ameritrade) is getting into the Bitcoin trading sector just as Fidelity has been doing over the past year. With TD Ameritrade being a $1 trillion firm with over 11 million clients this is certainly bound to have a huge impact on the future of Bitcoin. It seems TD Ameritrade and Nasdaq are in tests to offer a BTC and LTC spot trading feature which may turn on the spigot for institutions to flood into cryptocurrencies. So far, the testing is quite "stealthy" and "under wraps" but moving forward. Coupled with the recent news that Andreessen Horowitz is converting to a RIA and BlackRock re-organizing so as to be able to get into crypto, this TD news is further validation for Bitcoin. Looks like the groundswell for institutional participation in crypto is building. Read more (much more) below.

Bill Taylor/Fintek Capital

"On Monday (April 22, 2019), a Twitter user called “Cryptopolis” announced that BTC trading on the Nasdaq via the TD Ameritrade brokerage platform. Understandably, the new caused a stir within the “cryptocurrency Twitterverse.”

However, it turns out that the trade was only a test with TD Ameritrade apparently trying out BTC trading via their Paper Trading desk.

Cryptopolis, who identifies as a quantitative analyst at trading analytics service firm StrongMarket, says Nasdaq may also be collaborating with TD Ameritrade.

According to Cryptopolis, customer support at the brokerage firm wasn’t forthcoming with information about the matter beyond saying it wasn’t a real trade.

Litecoin creator, Charlie Lee also pointed out that trading is not only being tested for Bitcoin but for Litecoin (LTC) as well. The test shows both cryptocurrencies are being traded against the USD.

D Ameritrade has more than 11 million client accounts with more than $1 trillion in assets. The U.S. broker already offers Bitcoin futures trading.

One puzzling aspect of the story that even lends credence to Nasdaq’s involvement is CXERX, the unknown symbol under which BTC was trading on the platform..."