A collection of leading names on America’s Wall Street are investing heavily in a new futures market that will allow futures trading on Ethereum and Litecoin as well as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. The likes of TD Ameritrade and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) have invested in ErisX, which is set to become the first US-based regulated futures market for ETH, LTC and BCH. Plans are afoot for the new ErisX futures market to offer spot trading to investors as early as the beginning of next year; providing it is granted regulatory approval.
The success of the US Bitcoin futures market – overseen by the CBOE and CME Group – saw influential cryptocurrency investors lead the calls for a like-for-like Ethereum futures platform. It’s an exciting time for the alternative cryptocurrency scene. Even though most crypto markets have been bearish since the turn of the New Year, there has been significant investment and development in the digital economy. It’s no secret that many leading firms in the fintech sector have been investing heavily in critical infrastructure ahead of the predicted mainstream adoption of digital assets. A regulated, transparent futures platform such as ErisX will only further serve to cement Ethereum and Litecoin as the most credible virtual assets beneath Bitcoin. This could potentially lead to a surge in their value for those thinking of buying Ethereum or Litecoin in the near future.
Crypto investors will feel the benefits
Upon the announcement of TD Ameritrade’s significant investment in ErisX, the brokerage firm revealed that its retail investors are “seeking to access and trade” cryptocurrencies in “the same way they do with traditional capital markets – through a legitimate, regulated and transparent exchange”. Put simply, a rise in cryptocurrency futures markets for the likes of Litecoin (LTC) and Ethereum (ETH) will make them more accessible to retail investors around the world. TD Ameritrade’s client base alone spans more than 11 million investors, amounting to more than $1.2 trillion in asset value.
TD Ameritrade have a proud history of fostering innovation in the world of financial trading. They were the first brokerage firm to allow clients to place orders for company stocks using a touch-tone phone, the first to offer online trading and, more recently, the first to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into its brokerage operations – allowing clients to place orders using automated assistants.
The price of Ethereum has been a major talking point among the crypto fraternity of late. Prominent cryptocurrency analyst, Eric Thies recently commented that although Ethereum had lost more than half of its value from its all-time market high, market indicators suggest its value has bottomed out. With a market cap of more than $23 billion, Ethereum is still comfortably the second largest cryptocurrency in the industry behind Bitcoin; although Ripple (XRP) is fast gaining ground on Ethereum. XRP recently overtook Ethereum for a short while as the industry’s second largest digital coin by market cap.