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By CCN.com: E*Trade Financial Corp. is waking when it comes to the importance of allowing its customers the ability to trade cryptos. It’s readying to allow them to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, Bloomberg reports.
While banks and others have shunned cryptos, E*Trade’s willingness to allow customers to trade them is significant. It’s another step in the mass adoption of cryptos, which have been plagued by criticism.
Entrance Would Do Wonders For Cryptos
Bloomberg spoke to anonymous sources about E*Trade’s plans. Allowing crypto trading would make E*Trade one of the largest securities brokerages to provide the service, according to Bloomberg.
E*Trade would join the well-established exchange Coinbase. There is also Robinhood. Robinhood is a commission-free stock trading app that began allowing for crypto trading last year.
Details about when E*Trade’s service would launch, or the fee structure, were not noted.
No matter, news of the plans was naturally greeted positively by crypto enthusiasts. Richard Dennis, the founder and senior cryptography advisor of temtum, weighed in about mass adoption.
“Seeing E*Trade introduce cryptocurrency trading would bring some much needed trust at what could be perceived as a time of volatile sentiment towards crypto exchanges.
Exchange adoption will offer alternative on ramps, widen audiences and diversify investor demographics, while hopefully increasing money flow into the market, but they won’t solve what consumers need to use crypto.”
Crypto players also took to Twitter to voice their happiness about the possible launch.
This is a huge deal. Arguably bigger than Bakkt, ETF, Fidelity.
Etrade is the BEST way to introduce crypto to the retail masses
— Crypto Quantamental (@CryptoQF) April 27, 2019
Financial giant eTrade now entering the crypto market, looking to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum pairs.
They join the long and growing list of huge financial institutions and companies getting into cryptocurrency.$BTC $ETHhttps://t.co/HA3fQ4me4G
— Moon Overlord (@MoonOverlord) April 27, 2019
Crytpo enthusiast with the handle ‘Digital Asset Investor’ was extremely excited, saying he’d nailed E*Trade’s entry for a long time.
E*Trade’s plans prompted Digital Asset Investor teased Charles Schwab.
Hi @CharlesSchwab I just read that @etrade is going to offer digital asset trading to their 5 million customers and I previously read that @TDANetwork was going to do the same with their 11 million customers. Will you be offering digital asset trading to your customers?
— Digital Asset Investor (@digitalassetbuy) April 29, 2019
Perfect Timing
Cryptos received somewhat of a blow last week over Bitfinex and Tether. On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James obtained a court order to shut down the pair.
The New York attorney general alleges that Bitfinex – historically one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges – doesn’t have access to some $850 million Tether tokens and that it’s probably guilty of fraud as a result, CCN reported.
In a move that seems to be going further than any purported fraud, the AG has also demanded that Tether turn over documents that some traders may be uncomfortable with her having in possession. This includes complete records on people who hold Tether and are believed to reside in New York.
To have this positive news about E*Trade follow is welcomed. Dennis said:
“Last weeks’ news involving Bitfinex and Tether for example has increased fear within even hardened crypto investors and potentially affected market sentiment once more as the industry seemed to be moving forward with new hope.”
Ameritrade & eTrade entering crypto would likely be much bigger than any Tether bearish developments. https://t.co/SXws7vY7CK
— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) April 27, 2019
Still More Work To Do
Adoption of cryptocurrencies and what’s required for ‘mass adoption’ is expansive, Dennis points out. It goes much further than even the most trusted exchange platforms, like Coinbase and Robinhood, who have both “done extremely well and defining who they are and who they want to trade.”
Unfortunately E*Trade crypto trading will not equate to, and will not lead to, the common goal of greater adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Issues related to speed, security, scalability, and resource consumption must still be addressed. Then we’ll see the market shift to crypto being used rather than traded or stored – as long as they combined with defined, achievable routes to market, Dennis said.
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