21 Apr 2014 / The Independent – A start-up is launching a new market for Bitcoin aimed at institutional investors, amid growing interest in the digital currency from hedge funds and investment banks.
London-based Coinfloor is setting up an over-the-counter market for Bitcoin. Mark Lamb, Coinfloor’s chief executive, said: “We’re seeing a lot of demand… Most of the Bitcoin liquidity is happening off books – it’s a similar problem to the equities market, where you see a lot of these orders happening on dark pools.”
The company, which launched last year, is partnering with a Financial Conduct Authority-regulated trading firm to help financial institutions meet bulk orders for the digital currency. The silent partner will act as a “market maker” – buying and holding Bitcoin to ensure investors can get the currency when they need it.
Tom Robinson, director of the UK Digital Currency Association, said: “We are seeing growing interest from institutions, especially hedge funds. We’ve had interest from some investment banks in Europe as well.”
Some institutions in the US have already made bets on Bitcoin: the Wall Street hedge fund Fortress Investment earlier this year revealed that it had bought $20m (£12m) of the virtual money and has reportedly invested $10m in the London-based Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp….. Read more
