Skip to main content

Ledgerx Approved to Offer Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives to Retail Investors

Ledgerx Approved to Offer Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives to Retail Investors

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved Ledgerx to offer physically-settled bitcoin spot and derivatives trading, previously available only to institutional investors, to retail investors of any size. Ledgerx explained that its new platform will share the same order book as the current institutional offering so plenty of liquidity is expected from day one.

Also read: Indian Cryptocurrency Regulation Is Ready, Official Confirms

New License From CFTC

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Tuesday that it has approved the application of Ledgerx as a Designated Contract Market (DCM), effective Monday. The New York-based subsidiary of Ledger Holdings Inc. subsequently announced:

Five years and three licenses from the U.S. federal government later, we are officially licensed to offer our physically-settled BTC spot and derivatives trading to all investors.

Ledgerx Approved to Offer Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives to Retail Investors

“DCMs are most like traditional futures exchanges, which may allow access to their facilities by all types of traders, including retail customers,” the CFTC explained, adding that these platforms “may list for trading futures or option contracts based on any underlying commodity, index or instrument.”

Bringing Institutional Platform to Retail Investors

Following Monday’s approval, Ledgerx CEO Paul Chou confirmed that his platform is now approved to offer bitcoin spot and derivatives contracts, including futures and options, “to retail clients of any size.” The CEO previously revealed that his company “quietly applied” for this license last November.

Founded in 2014, Ledgerx is also registered with the CFTC as a Swap Execution Facility and a Derivatives Clearing Organization. Until Monday, it was only approved to offer services for institutional crypto trading, typically for those with $10 million in assets or higher, Chou described, emphasizing:

But bitcoin was not designed for just institutions. It’s designed for people, yet an open secret is that the vast majority of bitcoin trading happens over the counter (OTC) in markets of which most people are unaware or can’t access in any practical way.

Ledgerx Approved to Offer Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives to Retail Investors

He added that “transparency in the OTC markets is dim, to say the least.” As for Ledgerx’s future plans, the CEO revealed that additional crypto-specific derivatives will be launched this year.

New Platform for All Investors

All products for retail investors will be listed on Ledgerx Omni, the company’s new platform for both institutional and retail customers which was first unveiled on April 15. A $10,000 wire or 1 BTC is required to open an Omni account. Chou explained that any customers in the U.S. or Singapore can use the new platform with no net worth requirements, noting:

Everything is ‘physically’ settled, not cash settled which means you can both deposit and withdraw bitcoin to the account, in addition to your USD.

Ledgerx Approved to Offer Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives to Retail Investors

Further, no fees will be charged for any trades. “This is not a limited time promotion, it’s a forever kind of thing … No transaction fees, forever,” the CEO confirmed. Drawing from his own experience, the former Goldman Sachs trader explained the reason behind his platform’s no-fee policy. “In essence market makers had the power over stock exchanges so they negotiated getting additional money when a trade was done … The customer ‘taking’ not only paid the price but paid more on top of that, which distorts the actual effective price that they saw on the screen.”

For Omni, “market makers will pay all the exchange fees, as they’re the most capable ones to price them in their models in real time,” Chou said, reiterating that “the price you see on the screen is the total price you pay.” He further clarified:

Omni will share the same order book as our current institutional offering, so there will be plenty of liquidity from day one.

What do you think of Ledgerx bringing its institutional platform to all investors? Let us know in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: Bitcoin.com does not endorse or support claims made by any parties in this article. None of the information in this article is intended as investment advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Ledgerx.

Are you feeling lucky? Visit our official Bitcoin casino where you can play BCH slots, BCH poker, and many more BCH games. Every game has a progressive Bitcoin Cash jackpot to be won!

The post Ledgerx Approved to Offer Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives to Retail Investors appeared first on Bitcoin News.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/31TZY1H
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Web Roundup: Dream Adds Monero and Bitcoin Tumbler “Chip Mixer” Launches

The darknet has been quiet of late, which is the way it’s meant to be. No news means no mega busts, honeypots, or mass market shutdowns. Even when it’s out of the spotlight though, the deep web is quietly making news, whether trialling the latest privacy coins or the newest coin mixers that promise to restore a little of the privacy that’s being stripped away from bitcoin users on a daily basis. Also read: U.S. Agency ICE Conducts Investigations That Exploit Blockchain Activity The Battle for Privacy Heats Up Privacy is all relative, but of late there’s been relatively little privacy to be enjoyed by bitcoin users. Blockchain monitoring software is becoming more sophisticated and more common, with U.S. law enforcement agencies using it to profile and hunt down deep web users. Chip Mixer is a relatively new bitcoin tumbler that’s designed to restore some of that privacy. Available on both the clearnet and darknet, the service uses a variety of techniques to obfuscate blockchain m...
10 comments
Read more

International Crypto Exchange Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading

Luno exchange has added bitcoin cash trading to the platform following feedback from its client base. BCH is now only the third cryptocurrency available for trading on the exchange, in addition to BTC and ETH , but more options could be on the way once Luno determines that they are credible enough. Also Read: Bitflyer Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Across Europe and the US Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Luno, the London-headquartered company formerly known as Bitx, recently announced that bitcoin cash was made available on its cryptocurrency exchange. Starting from Monday, September 23, customers at Luno are now able to store, buy and sell BCH on the platform. The reason given for adding BCH to the exchange is feedback from users in developing markets that convinced Luno to expand their offering from previously just BTC and ETH . Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno, said , “We are in a new and exciting financial era. Developing economies are leading the large-scale adoption and appli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently. Spanish Ombudsman Gives His Take on Crypto Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested. The report states : Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems. The affected users that sought...
Post a Comment
Read more