TP ICAP Has Started Trading Crypto-Linked Exchange-Traded Products for Clients

While the firm is now trading ETPs solely in Europe, a U.S. rollout is planned in eight weeks.

AccessTimeIconJan 10, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:50 p.m. UTC
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TP ICAP, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker, has started offering clients services in crypto-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs) in another sign of the growing mainstream adoption of digital assets.

The firm, which facilitates transactions between investment banks, hedge funds and other large financial institutions, has been trading in Europe for clients such as Goldman Sachs, Flow Traders and Jane Street, TP ICAP digital assets’ co-heads Simon Forster and Duncan Trenholme told CoinDesk in an interview.

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  • Trading an equity-linked product on an exchange is probably the easiest way for clients to get comfortable with digital assets, Forster said, adding that the firm had been active in trading ETPs such as ETC Group’s physical bitcoin product, BTCE.

    The broker is responding to increased demand for digital assets from institutional clients, and it’s not alone. UBS, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are all clearing and settling cryptocurrency ETPs for hedge-fund clients in Europe, as reported by CoinDesk.

    ETPs allow firms to gain exposure to parts of the crypto universe without investing directly. Instead the investment is through a security that tracks the performance of various digital assets.

    The liquidity in some of these ETP products is “relatively modest” at present, Forster said. He expects that as more institutional money moves into the space, the number of products will grow and the overall market will expand.

    TP ICAP plans to launch the trading of crypto-linked ETPs in the U.S. in the coming months, the broker said. Still, the focus for 2022 is on the roll-out of over-the-counter (OTC) derivative products based on digital assets. An OTC derivative is a financial contract that is arranged off exchange, such as a swap.

    Last September, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), said it established a new digital asset legal and documentation working group to start looking at standards for crypto OTC derivatives.

    In June last year, TP ICAP announced it was launching a wholesale trading platform for crypto assets in a joint venture with Fidelity Digital Assets, Zodia Custody and Flow Traders.

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    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

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    Will Canny is CoinDesk's finance reporter.


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