A Japanese investment bank stated on Friday (May 13) that it has begun selling Bitcoin futures over the counter (OTC) to its Asian clients.
Japanese financial holding corporation, Nomura Holdings, Inc., is “a key member of the Nomura Group,” according to its website. A worldwide financial services company with a focus on the securities industry offers “investment, financing, and associated services” to “individual, institutional, and government consumers.”
A statement by Rig Karkhanis, Nomura’s head of markets, Asia (ex-Japan), said that the transactions, performed on the CME by crypto-asset trading company Cumberland DRW this week, were the Japanese investment bank’s first digital asset trades.”
After that, he said: Our customers’ growing demand for our services will be met by working with counterparties that are of a more institutional calibre.
The head of Nomura’s forex structuring in Asia (previously Japan) Tim Albers told Bloomberg in an interview that “Japan’s largest brokerage is now trying to offer non-deliverable wingers and non-deliverable choices settled in cash, and can trade Bitcoin futures and options,” according to Bloomberg’s report on the story.
Albers also said: In recent days, there has been considerable uncertainty… Institutional investors will find values more appealing when the dust settles. We can’t wait to get started on this.”
Nomura wants to extend its trading skills in other global markets over time, according to a Bloomberg article, which said that “Nomura is leveraging expertise inside its Singapore-based foreign exchange team and its wholesale digital office.”
Cryptocurrency companies in the US are under increasing attention from regulators, which has prompted some to look for less-bureaucratic countries, such as Bermuda, to locate their businesses. As a result of the Federal Reserve and other central banks raising interest rates in an effort to combat inflation, cryptocurrencies and other risky assets have also been under pressure.
XP, Brazil’s biggest brokerage firm by market, revealed on Thursday (May 12) that it plans to launch a crypto trading platform called XTAGE before the end of the month. $BTC and $ETH trading on the XTAGE platform, which is based on Nasdaq’s trading technology, will be available to 3.5 million customers. XTAGE’s digital assets are believed to be held by BitGo, a crypto custody business.
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