One in Five Financial Institutions is Exploring Crypto Trading
Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters News has released a new survey, which suggests that one in five financial institutions (primarily banks) is considering to start trading cryptocurrencies within next 12 months. The firm surveyed more than 400 clients on its data and trading platforms, including Eikon, REDI, FXall, and Elektron.
A whopping 70 percent of the respondents who said they are going to trade cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, said that they were planning to start trading in the next three to six months. This shows that a vast majority of these financial institutions have already conducted their homework, studied the market, and understood the possible regulatory challenges.
About 20 percent of these clients were "really interested and actively exploring" launching cryptocurrency trading operations in 2018,” the firm's director Sam Chadwick told reporters. According to the firm’s press statement, 70 percent of the financial services corporations are looking to start trading operations within three to six months, while another 22 percent aim to start in six to 12 months.
This is something that astonished the researchers too.
The key reason behind this institutional eagerness to involve is growing retail interest following the skyrocketing prices of digital currencies last year. While analysts were predicting institutional involvement (following the price hike), there were concerns (as well) due to regulatory warnings, fears about the stability of digital currencies, and risks of frauds.
Now, banks are examining client interest and several hedge funds have tried their hand trading virtual currencies. While it’s true that cryptocurrency prices have fallen big time this year, some mind-blowing predictions about the future still make them worth considering.
The survey also highlighted an interesting market shift. A comparative assessment of the findings indicate a major shift from a year ago. Researchers point out a big shift in the mindset and attitudes of the financial institutions. Last year, the majority of them were not interested in digital currencies; instead, they were aiming to study the blockchain technology, smart contracts, and the byproducts. Now, the interest has shifted towards currencies.
For example, within Eikon's foreign exchange category, traffic to the landing page for cryptocurrencies comes second only to the euro. Thomson Reuters has also added a number of digital coins like Ripple’s XRP, litecoin etc. Moreover, they have also integrated comparative pricing and future indices from other data sources.