The US Nasdaq plans to start managing crypto from the second quarter of 2023. With this new service, the stock exchange mainly wants to target the big boys and girls within the financial industry. By entering at this time, Nasdaq hopes to fill the gap left by the industry’s many bankruptcies.
The first steps
Nasdaq wants to start managing Bitcoin and Ethereum and then slowly expand its services. This makes it clear that Nasdaq initially focuses mainly on the established names and does not take too much risk with altcoins that may still have to prove themselves.
We are currently setting up the infrastructure and applying for the correct permits in the United States to be able to take this step. According to Bloomberg the disappearance of FTX creates a gap in the industry, which Nasdaq could now jump into nicely.
With the move towards the crypto industry, Nasdaq joins BNY Mellon and Fidelity, who have been involved with Bitcoin for some time. Other parties within the traditional financial industry mainly focus on tokenizing financial assets such as bonds to make trading more efficient.
Good for confidence
Nasdaq’s choice to enter the crypto world is a welcome development for the industry. The collapse of FTX, among others, caused a major dent in public confidence in crypto in 2022. If parties like Nasdaq show that the industry is interesting to them.
What the industry needs right now is for a few trusted names from the financial industry to step in. That is what also gives people the confidence to place their assets there. A party like Nasdaq will not quickly turn into an FTX-like drama.
It may not be quite what the real Bitcoin purists have in mind, but for the mass adoption of crypto there seems to be no other way at the moment.