Trading Technologies International plugged Coinbase into its trading platform this week, opening a gateway for institutional money to flow into crypto. TT connects to 19 of the 20 largest firms in the
Trading Technologies International plugged Coinbase into its trading platform this week, opening a gateway for institutional money to flow into crypto. TT connects to 19 of the 20 largest firms in the global futures market. That's significant reach.
Rick Lane, TT's chief executive, sees institutional demand that platforms haven't met. "Institutions are trading with increasing frequency and regularity in these markets, although they're doing so without institutional-grade, professional-grade technology. They're largely underserved and there's a lot of trading volume and trading opportunity left on the table," Lane said.
Numbers suggest he's right. Cboe and CME process $150 million in bitcoin contracts daily. The TT-Coinbase partnership will move higher volume through TT's network than both exchanges combined. "It will absolutely move the needle in terms of the futures volume," Lane said.
Spencer Bogart, a venture capitalist with Blockchain Capital, views both TT and Robinhood's moves into crypto as major developments.
Robinhood, the mobile trading app millions of Americans use for stocks and ETFs, starts bitcoin and ethereum trading in February. Users can already track 14 cryptocurrencies on the platform. Now they'll be able to buy and sell them.
Vlad Tenev, Robinhood's co-founder, said the company will run crypto at break-even. "The value of Robinhood Crypto is in growing our customer base and better serving our existing customers," Tenev said.
What matters is the scale. Last year, analysts marked 2017 as crypto's mainstream breakthrough. Surveys across the US, South Korea, and Russia found that overwhelming majorities there knew about bitcoin. When two of America's biggest financial platforms add crypto trading, adoption will accelerate.
The influx of institutional and retail capital changes the market's mechanics. Bitcoin has long been vulnerable to "whales"—large holders who shift prices through concentrated trades. With billions in new money flowing through professional systems, individual manipulators lose that leverage. Rumors have circulated that institutional traders have been depressing prices to profit on short positions. Nothing has been confirmed. But the entry of so much institutional capital may render that strategy obsolete.
