Categories: Bitcoin Latest News

Wall Street Bank Cowen To Offer Spot Bitcoin Trading

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.

Read More

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

Author:

Namcios

Publish date:

Mar 23, 2022

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.

Feedzy

Recent Posts

Bitcoin Price Could Peak In 200 Days, Before US Recession In Mid-2025, Report Says

The current Bitcoin (BTC) rally could extend until mid-2025, with a potential price peak before…

3 hours ago

Bitcoin Price Steadies at $90K: Is Another Rally in Sight?

Bitcoin price extended gains above $90,000. BTC is now consolidating gains near $90,000 and might…

3 hours ago

Bitcoin Expected To Hit $100,000 Before 2025, According To Kalshi Data

Bitcoin (BTC) has hit new highs in recent days, with many users of crypto betting…

4 hours ago

The Protocol: Reinvent Ethererum, and Just Don’t Break Bitcoin

In founding editor Bradley Keoun's last issue of The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly newsletter devoted to…

10 hours ago

Bitcoin Consolidates After Recent Surge – Metrics Reveal Moderate Selling Pressure

Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high of $90,243 following a week of relentless upward…

11 hours ago

The Truth About Bitcoin Price Models: Stock-to-Flow, Power Law, and Beyond

Predicting Bitcoin's price has always been a hot topic for investors. Matt Crosby, lead market…

11 hours ago