E*Trade Prepping for Bitcoin, Crypto Trading
Institutions seem to be on the verge of diving deep into Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto. As spotted by analyst Crypto Thies, E*Trade, one of the largest retail brokerages in America, was recently ‘caught’ advertising its services for the search term “cryptocurrency trading” on Google. While the advertisement itself didn’t mention cryptocurrency or blockchain in any way, shape, or form, E*Trade’s ad joined Gemini, Coinbase, and BitcoinIRA.
Crypto Youtuber and Airswap employee Robert Paone corroborated this noticing, revealing that E*Trade also appeared under “crypto trading”. This implies that the institution is preparing for the launch of digital asset trading. For those who missed the memo, a source told Bloomberg in April that the New York-based E*Trade will soon allow users of its platform to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The anonymous source added that if the launch of the two aforementioned assets goes well, E*Trade may consider “adding other currencies in the future.”
The New York Times corroborated this news, surprisingly enough. In a tweet posted on the subject matter, Nathaniel Popper, the business news outlet’s resident Bitcoin specialist, explained that his insiders are releasing information similar to that seen in the Bloomberg post. Popper’s insiders did add a tidbit of their own, however, as the reporter did explain that E*Trade is being held by finding a proper third party/custody solution to secure the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets purchased and sold.
If this news is true, over five million investors will soon see BTC and ETH tickers appear in their E*Trade portals. Sure, five million is far from the worldwide adoption that some optimists are waiting for with bated breath, but many are adamant that this will spark a hefty amount of renewed interest in cryptocurrencies.
E*Trade isn’t the only firm seemingly prepping for crypto support. TD Ameritrade, one of the retail brokerage’s primary competitors, has a fully-fleshed out crypto-related page on its website. The firm’s Think or Swim trading portal was also recently revealed to have BTC and LTC listed as paper (not supported yet) assets. And most importantly, TD Ameritrade has partnered with crypto startup ErisX.
News to Drive BTC Higher
Many analysts believe that such mainstream endorsement and infrastructures plays are what will drive Bitcoin higher in the coming years. In a segment with Bloomberg, venture capitalist Jehan Chu explained that he expects for Bitcoin to be trading at $30,000 — 230% higher than current prices.
Backing this prediction, the investor looks to the fact that you see Facebook, JP Morgan, Fidelity Investments, and other households names in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street effectively endorsing the technology behind crypto assets by jumping into this space. These developments, in his eyes, will drive “mind share and drive adoption”.
Title Image Courtesy of Ales Nesetril Via Unsplash
