Amid controversies around the Libra and with high volatility in the bitcoin prices, the cryptocurrency market in the United States (USA) remains crowded of updates. New indexes on Nasdaq, the launch of a custody solution and establishment of initial margin requirements.
Gemini launches crypto custody service
The Gemini Exchange is launching a solution of crypto custody at the institutional level, the Gemini Custody. The new Winklevoss brothers’s platform will allow customers to instantly negotiate assets through credits.
Previously, customers needed to wait more than a day to access and negotiate assets. Now they can perform transactions with assets held offline. This way, it is not necessary to wait to access them using the new system. In addition, you will have the option to configure “whitelists”. Thus, they can ensure that their crypto reserves can only be withdrawn to certain addresses.
Another novelty is that it will be possible to grant access to auditors to confirm balances and activities, and to set up different sub accounts. According to Gemini’s director-Manager of Operations, Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, the launch is a solution that provides security and liquidity to customers.
Nasdaq establishes new index for cryptocurrencies in the U.S.
Another newness that promises to move the cryptocurrency market in the USA came from Nasdaq. The exchange recently announced that it has added a new index that aims to offer the markets information on decentralized financial blockchain projects (DeFi).
Called Defix, the index was released by the broker Exante, headquartered in London. The company was one of the pioneers in the crypto industry to launch a bitcoin fund in 2012. Offered as a means for investors and traders to track “popular” blockchain tokens focused on defi, the Defix lists projects including MakerDao, Augur, Gnosis, Numerai, 0x and Amoveo.
The index is listed by Nasdaq under the DEFX code. It can also be tracked on TradingView and Google, with a Yahoo Finance listing planning in the future.
So far this year, the U.S. stock Exchange has added dedicated indexes for bitcoin, ether and ripple. In addition, there is already a broader reference index of CryptoCompare.
Bakkt announces initial requirements
Bakkt started its operation on Monday (23/09). The first future contract was negotiated at US$ 10,115 and the pace of closed contracts on the first day was slow. It seems the market expected more of the first days. To make it even worse, in the following days the price of the bitcoin has undergone a correction, further disappointing the market.
A few weeks ago, the company determined the values of the initial deposits that have to be done to negotiate with margin their future bitcoin products. The requirement is a US$ 3,900 deposit for Bakkt’s daily and monthly futures contracts as an initial hedge. The initial speculative requirements will be slightly higher, with US$ 4,290 each.
According to John Todaro, director of research at TradeBlock, the initial margin requirements are “the amount of assets (collateral) that need to be guaranteed data to open a position”. The initial hedge requirements are for accounts that already have bitcoin exposure.
“These items are for accounts that speculate on the movement of the bitcoin price through futures contracts. CFTC and other regulatory agencies have rules in place which aim to protect future markets from excessive speculation, which can lead to divergent fluctuations in prices, volatility, etc”, he explained.
