SecondMarket, the digital currency trading platform, is relaunching under a new brand called Genesis Trading. Genesis caters to institutional bitcoin investors and speculators. Genesis Trading, is one of the first fully regulated broker-dealer on US soil, and has served large institutional investors since 2013. The brokerage has cleared several hundred thousand dollars worth of bitcoin transactions since inception.
GT currently provides access to several digital currencies besides bitcoin. Litecoin and ripple, two other digital assets that are also tradeable on the GT platform. Genesis mainly caters to large buyers and sellers, so most trades are executed in large blocks.
Brendan O’Connor, CEO of Genesis Trading(GT), envisions the GT platform becoming an institutional bitcoin trading hub, utilized by financial professional who understand the future implications of digital currencies. Hedge funds and investment banks have already shown they have a healthy appetite for bitcoin-related investments, and that is where O’Connor sees potential. GT is a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group(DCG).
DCG was launched in 2014 by veteran Wall Street investor, Barry Silbert. SecondMarket was founded and previously owned by Barry Silbert, but Silbert found himself drawn to other bitcoin ventures and resigned from SecondMarket in 2014.
Silbert is not the only Wall Street veteran interested in bitcoin and alternative digital currencies. In March of this year, several prominent Wall Street investors launched the Wall Street Bitcoin Alliance(WSBA). The WSBA brands itself as an advocacy body for the promotion of digital currency technology in financial markets. Ron Quaranta, Founder of the WSBA, recognizes the importance of blockchain-based financial systems, and firmly believes that the future of financial markets rests with the blockchain.
The WSBA, sports an impressive roster of bitcoin entrepreneurs such as Christian Martin, CEO of TeraExchange. Just like Barry Silbert, Martin is also looking to bridge the wide gap between Wall Street institutions and Bitcoin. Genesis Trading has positioned itself in a very strategic spot, but it remains to be seen if the institutional interest in digital currencies will continue to grow or stagnate. Buttercoin, another institutional bitcoin broker, recently announced it was shutting down due to lack of VC and institutional interest.
