Barclays Bank Expresses Interest In Opening A Cryptocurrency Trading Desk
Barclays Bank, one of the biggest and most successful banks in the world is reportedly planning to open a cryptocurrency trading desk. Sources familiar with the matter claim that the company has been consulting customers to determine whether there is enough interest.
The sources who claimed anonymity revealed that the bank is interested in providing a cryptocurrency trading desk but the information is currently not ready for the public. The fact that cryptocurrencies are still considered a relatively new asset class and are subject to a lot of risks as well as compliance requirements means higher level clearance has to be involved. The bank would thus have to gain approval from Barclays CEO, Jes Staley, and Tim Throsby, the president of Barclays International.
The announcement by the anonymous sources suggests that the company is working on diversifying its businesses. Throsby announced in September last year that the bank was working on reviving its commercial energy by investing billions of dollars into higher risk trading. Bloomberg believes that Barclays is looking for investments opportunities in asset types such as Bitcoin which are characterized by dramatic swings in prices.
Andrew Smith, a spokesman for Barclays stated that the bank constantly evaluating the developments in the cryptocurrency market and the bank has been consulting with customers to identify their needs. Opening a cryptocurrency trading desk would mark a huge step forward for Barclays especially because it is one of the traditional institutions that has been in the banking and finance industry for decades. Such traditional institutions have previously been known to be against cryptocurrencies. However, banks have now started to express interest in the cryptocurrency market thus demonstrating the changing dynamics.
A cryptocurrency trading desk would come in handy especially for hedge funds that deal with cryptocurrency. This is because such hedge funds need banks that can handle their transactions in a similar fashion to how brokers handle securities. Some of the firms in Wall Street have been allowing their clients to invest in Bitcoin futures contracts that are offered by CBOE Global Markets Inc. and CME Group Inc.
Despite the bank's plans about cryptocurrency being trading desk revealed, the sources also stated that Barclays does not have a solid plan to start trading cryptocurrencies. This means that it might just be something that the bank is looking into and as such, there is no confirmation as to whether it will proceed with the plan.