While the big banks are usually very skeptical of bitcoin in public, below the radar they could all already be making plans to gain a foothold for themselves in the ecosystem. The latest example is Barclays that is reportedly asking clients about a possible move into the crypto trading space. Also Read: Coinbase Acquires Earn.com for an Estimated $100 Million Testing the Waters British banking giant Barclays (LSE: BARC) is supposedly considering launching a cryptocurrency trading desk. The bank is trying to figure out if there is enough demand from its clients including hedge funds, big investors and the like for it to enter this new line of business. This would make Barclays the first major bank in London to offer such a service. Although the bank says it still has no specific plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk, sources have revealed it has conducted a preliminary assessment of demand and feasibility. “We constantly monitor developments in the digital currency sp...
As reported earlier by The New York Times (NYT) and Bitcoin Magazine , Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is developing an online trading platform that would allow large investors to trade bitcoin directly. As news about the ICE platform continues to develop, Bitcoin Magazine spoke with lawyers Ben Sauter and Dave McGill of Kobre & Kim, a New York City law firm which specializes in disputes and investigations, to examine the regulatory issues surrounding the launch of such a platform, including swap contracts and the implications the ICE platform might have on cryptocurrency trading in the future. Sauter and McGill are also participating lawyers in the Digital Currency & Ledger Defense Coalition (DCLDC), a coalition of lawyers and academics whose collaborated effort focuses on understanding the regulatory and legal issues surrounding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to protect individual constitutional rights an...