Coinbase Introduces OTC Trading for Institutional Crypto Investors
Leading US crypto exchange Coinbase has announced the launch of over-the-counter (OTC) trading for institutional customers. This feature will enable institutional investors to conduct direct trades among each other. Clients will now also be able to leverage Coinbase’s crypto exchange and OTC service.
Speaking on the development, Christine Sandler, Head of Sales, Coinbase said that the incessant demand for OTC crypto trading compelled the exchange to make this move. “We launched our OTC business as a complement to our exchange business because we found a lot of institutions were using OTC as an on-ramp for crypto trading.”
Sandler also announced the probability of the OTC service being integrated with Coinbase’s custody services, to store the digital assets for the clients securely. With this initiative, Coinbase joins the pool of businesses like Circle, Genesis Trading, itBit, Kenetic Capital, SFOX, and others, which currently offer OTC trading services.
On being asked as to what makes Coinbase’s OTC trading stand out from its peers, Sandler remarked, “Circle and a number of others have complementary products, but they also trade on a proprietary basis, so they are the counterparty to each transaction, while we, in fact, are matching client orders.”
Circle, a crypto-based financial service has a similar OTC service dubbed Circle Trade which was launched in February 2018 following the acquisition of the Poloniex exchange.
Coinbase has reportedly started allowing its clients to trade any asset that is available on Coinbase Prime, an institutional investing platform.
Coinbase’s move comes at a time when the crypto market is going through an unfavorable environment with digital assets experiencing a dramatic decline in their market values. Recently, Coinbase announced yet another significant development with the listing of Ethereum Classic (ETC) to its Coinbase wallet.
