Wall Street Warms to Currency Trading

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have become much more mainstream in recent years. A cryptocurrency law firm can provide advice to investors who want to get into Bitcoin trading to offer more insight into legalities and obligations for those who buy or sell Bitcoin.

Although Bitcoin has long been on the fringes of the financial world, the New York Times indicates that big Wall Street names are starting to embrace the virtual currency, which could make trading in Bitcoin more attractive to casual investors.

Wall Street is Embracing Bitcoin

According to the New York Times, the New York Stock Exchange has become involved with developing an online trading platform aimed at facilitating bitcoin purchases by large investors. The virtual exchange has not been formally announced, but was reported after Goldman Sachs announced it intended to open the first Bitcoin trading unit at a Wall Street bank.

The fact that the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, the Intercontinental Exchange, is embracing bitcoin, along with Goldman Sachs and other major Wall Street banks, marks a major shift as Bitcoin has long been consigned to the fringe of the financial world and has been viewed as a speculative and risky investment.  These moves suggest Bitcoin is becoming more mainstream around a decade after the virtual currency was first created after the 2008 global financial crisis.

The initial goal of Bitcoin’s creator was to replace the existing banking structure with a decentralized virtual currency that wouldn’t be under the control of powerful special interest groups and organizations. However, now that traditional banks are beginning to embrace Bitcoin, it is likely they will be able to help shape the virtual currency trading marketplaces.

The details of the virtual platform that the New York Stock Exchange will create have not been finalized yet and, as the New York Times indicates, there is no guarantee that the exchange will ever actually come to fruition.  However, many large financial institutions, corporations, and government entities have increasingly expressed interest in blockchain technology and large financial exchanges such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have already begun to create futures products linked to Bitcoin.  The chief executive of Nasdaq also indicated that her company might create a virtual currency exchange in the event that regulatory issues associated with cryptocurrencies are resolved.

The big shift is that the New York Stock Exchange would make more direct access to Bitcoin available and would give investors an easier way to actually purchase Bitcoin tokens through trading. While there is still some skepticism in the mainstream financial world about Bitcoin’s future, if these new exchanges are created, it seems inevitable that interest in trading will only continue to increase.

While Bitcoin may be going mainstream, it will still be important for individual investors to understand risks and requirements. A cryptocurrency law firm can provide guidance to investors on regulatory and tax issues when they make bitcoin investments.