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Brazil’s Largest Broker XP To Launch Bitcoin Trading

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XP is the largest broker by market value in Brazil and they intend to launch bitcoin trading by the end of June this year, in partnership with Nasdaq and BitGo.

  • XP, Brazil’s largest broker, plans to allow bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading to its 3.5 million customers.
  • Nasdaq partnered with XP to create the XTAGE trading platform, which is expected to release this June.
  • BitGo will be XP’s custodial partner, keeping most of the bitcoin and other assets in cold storage for security.

XP, Brazil’s largest broker according to market value, is planning to launch a cryptocurrency trading platform that will allow its customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a translated report from Info Money.

The platform will go by the name XTAGE and was developed in partnership with Nasdaq to be integrated into the XP app with expected an operability timeframe near the end of June. XTAGE will initially only launch for bitcoin and one other cryptocurrency.

“Nasdaq’s robust and flexible infrastructure technology, designed to meet market demands, as well as current and future regulatory structures, will allow XP to scale its platform reliably and introduce new asset classes as they grow and evolve,” said Roland Chai, executive vice president and head of market technology infrastructure at Nasdaq.

Cryptocurrency portfolios will be integrated with other investments in the app allowing customers to frictionlessly interact with the interface they are already accustomed to. This functionality will bring bitcoin to XP’s 3.5 million customers.

An internal survey conducted by XP shows over 60% of its customers are interested in buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and of the customers currently investing in these assets outside of XP, 80% of those customers would like to use a trading platform designed by XP.

Director of financial products at XP, Lucas Rabechini was reportedly asked about fees associated with using the platform and said he can assure his users that they will “have super competitive rates.”

Customers looking to use XTAGE will have a wallet that is capable of holding their bitcoin, however the ability to transfer funds to a different wallet will not be included at launch. XP will reportedly offer the transfer functionality at a later date.

BitGo will be XP’s custodial partner and most of the assets will be held in cold wallets, which Rabechini explained will increase the security of the platform. 

Warren Buffett-Backed Digital Bank Nubank Buys Bitcoin, Adds Trading In App

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Brazil’s largest digital bank added bitcoin to its treasury and now allows customers to buy, sell and hold the currency in its mobile app.

  • Nubank now enables its customers to purchase bitcoin in its mobile app.
  • Nubank will also allocate 1% of its portfolio to bitcoin to “strengthen the company’s conviction” in the potential of bitcoin, the firm said.
  • Bitcoin critic Warren Buffet owns Nubank shares through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway, giving the investor indirect exposure to BTC.

Nubank, the largest Brazilian digital bank, now allows customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin in the bank’s mobile application, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The fintech also will allocate 1% of its equity to bitcoin through its parent company Nu Holdings Inc., which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Nubank said the move seeks to “strengthen the company’s conviction in the current and future potential of bitcoin in disrupting financial services,” reported Exame.

Cryptocurrency infrastructure company Paxos will provide the necessary trading and custody services for Nubank’s offering, according to multiple reports. As a result, it appears that users leveraging the Brazilian digital bank’s app for buying bitcoin will not be able to withdraw BTC to a wallet they control.

The feature will be rolled out in phases. Currently, the option is in the testing phase, where a few percent of Nubank’s customers will have access to the bitcoin integration. The bank expects all customers to be served over the next couple of months.

In its statement, Nubank detailed its reasoning for investing in the Bitcoin ecosystem, stating that Bitcoin holds over 40% of the total market share of all cryptocurrencies and is considered the strongest cryptocurrency due to the weight it carries.

Nubank’s treasury allocation to bitcoin now gives indirect BTC exposure to legendary investor and Bitcoin critic Warren Buffet, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. According to a CNBC report, the holding company invested $500 million in Nubank in June 2021, acquired 30 million shares for $250 million as it went public in December and recently doubled-down with a $1 billion investment in Brazilian fintech.

Giant Fintech FIS To Enable Institutional Bitcoin, Crypto Trading

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The world’s largest processing and payments company FIS has partnered with Fireblocks to allow institutional access to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

  • FIS and Fireblocks are teaming up to provide enterprise-grade bitcoin and other cryptocurrency asset management services.
  • 6,000 enterprise-grade clients will have access to a full financial suite allowing them to access features such as self-custodied wallets and constant access to a secure transfer network.
  • A survey cited in the press release from FIS states 69% of institutional investors want to adopt bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for asset management.

FIS, a publicly-traded fintech company and the largest processing and payments provider in the world, has partnered with New York-based cryptocurrency infrastructure firm Fireblocks to enable its over 6,000 capital markets clients access to a full suite of financial services for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a Wednesday press release.

“As digital currencies become more mainstream, capital markets firms will greatly benefit from a single destination that helps them manage many classes of digital assets,” said Nasser Khodri, head of capital markets at FIS. “This exciting new agreement is a proof point of our commitment to invest in growing our digital asset capabilities for our global client base.”

Starting today, 6,000 clients served by FIS will have access to Fireblocks’ product offerings including the network of over 1,000 partners that allows cheap, quick and secure transfers across the world all year round with no set operating hours, allowing constant access.

“The strategic partnership with FIS will bring the Fireblocks technology to nearly every type of buy-side, sell-side and corporate institution in traditional assets,” said Michael Shaulov, Chief Executive Officer at Fireblocks. “Together, we will enable a quick way for existing and prospective FIS clients to onboard their digital asset operations and begin tapping into these fast-growing markets.”

The press release cites a recent survey that showed 69% of institutional investors in the U.S want to adopt bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as part of their investment strategy. This partnership allows FIS clients to move and store bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, gain access to self-custodied wallets, a transfer network, and other advanced forms of digital asset management.

In March, Worldpay from FIS partnered with Shyft Network to enable its merchant clients to more easily comply with current and evolving regulatory requirements in the new ecosystem. Worldpay provides services to four of the top five cryptocurrency exchanges, FIS said.

Wall Street Bank Cowen To Offer Spot Bitcoin Trading

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The firm leveraged its small footprint to fast-track its way into offering spot instead of futures trading of bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

  • Boutique investment bank Cowen Inc. will reportedly offer its institutional clients spot bitcoin trading through a new business unit.
  • “This will be a meaningful division,” its co-president said.
  • Standard Custody & Trust Co. will act as the bank’s cryptocurrency custodian.

Wall Street investment bank Cowen Inc. has debuted a new digital asset unit to offer spot bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading to institutional investors, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The firm leveraged its small footprint to front-run its bigger competitors as the finance hub seeks to embrace the burgeoning asset class’ spot markets. Goldman Sachs executed its first over-the-counter (OTC) bitcoin options trade earlier this week, trying to plug into derivatives-based offerings as uncertainties and complexities around spot products hold back developments.

“We have a big first mover advantage in this space,” Cowen co-president Dan Charney told Bloomberg. “Because of our culture, we’re able to work with our legal and compliance and our regulators in a way that maybe our bigger competitors aren’t, and we’re just able to get to solutions faster.”

Cowen’s new business unit will target mainly the bank’s hedge fund, mutual fund and family office clients, per the report. Assets purchased by these institutions will be held under the custody of institutional-grade platform Standard Custody & Trust Co.

It is unclear whether clients will be able to withdraw any bitcoin they purchase, but given that Cowen will act as a custodian it appears clients will not have that option. Without proper self-custody, those institutions will be limited to the potential price appreciation of the asset and not be able to store wealth without third-party risk or transact value freely. However, such use cases are arguably more compelling for individuals.

Cowen’s new unit also plans to offer derivatives and futures trading of cryptocurrency, lending and institutional access to decentralized finance platforms and non-fungible tokens, per the report. The unit launched with 40 employees from the bank but it reportedly plans to more than double its staff soon.

SoftBank-Backed Broker Avenue Debuts Bitcoin Trading

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Avenue Securities now allows its over 500,000 Brazilian customers to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin in an integration with a third-party trading platform.

SoftBank-backed broker Avenue Securities debuted native, no-fees bitcoin trading services on Wednesday through an integration with B2B platform Apex Crypto to meet a growing demand for BTC and cryptocurrency among its over 500,000 Brazilian clients.

“Trading cryptocurrencies is now officially a reality with Avenue Digital Assets,” the company said in a Wednesday email to investors seen by Bitcoin Magazine. “All this with the same ease of our services that you already know, and integrated into your platform.”

Cryptocurrency trading was live on Avenue’s website on Wednesday and launched on mobile the following day. But while trading has been enabled, Avenue customers don’t have the option to withdraw purchased cryptocurrency to external self-custody wallets at the moment.

The news comes nearly one month after the U.S.-based securities brokerage firm specialized in serving Brazilian customers announced plans to debut the feature.

Avenue’s app now provides the user with a direct interface through which they can trade bitcoin, however, the actual negotiation happens on the backend at Apex Crypto’s platform. To opt into the new feature, a customer needs to accept Apex’s terms and conditions and consent Avenue sending their personal information to the third-party service provider, which will open an account for them.

“You are trading cryptocurrencies through your Apex Crypto account,” a warning displayed on the Avenue app’s bitcoin trading page reads. “Apex Crypto is not a registered broker-dealer or FINRA member and your cryptocurrency holdings are not FDIC or SIPC insured.”

Apex handles bitcoin buying, selling, and custody for Avenue. The platform specializes in providing a simple, compliant integration option for fintech companies to add cryptocurrency trading functionality to their applications, according to its website.

In February, Avenue founder and CEO Alberto Lee said that his company’s cryptocurrency trading feature would bring down prices by as much as 8% compared to Brazilian markets that trade in reais, the country’s national currency.

“The trading volume of cryptocurrencies in reais is still very thin compared to dollar volume, and that makes a difference in price formation,” Lee said at the time.