Jonathan Pruzan, the bank’s chief financial officer, said the firm has been clearing bitcoin futures trades made on Cboe Global Markets and CME Group, in an interview with Bloomberg News. The company has followed the lead of its rival Goldman Sachs and is clearing bitcoin futures trades for clients.
Pruzan told Bloomberg:
“If someone wants to do a trade on the futures and settle in cash, we’ll do that. I wouldn’t say it’s been a lot of activity, but it’s for core institutional clients who want to participate in a derivatives transaction.”
The exchange groups launched bitcoin futures in December, but much of Wall Street has been taking a wait and see approach on the product which is tied to a cryptocurrency known for its spine-tingling volatility. According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs is the only other major Wall Street bank known to be clearing bitcoin futures trades.
Large brokerages such as Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade and E*Trade are allowing some clients to trade futures through their platforms.
This news is on the back of a major sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets. During Wednesday’s trading session, the total value of the cryptocurrency market fell to just above $400 billion, almost half of its worth on January 7. The markets have since come storming back and at last check the market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies stood at $595 billion, according to data from Coincarketcap.com
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