SBI Invests $9 Mln in Cryptocurrency Derivatives Platform

Global investment firms and cryptocurrency exchanges are rushing to develop new digital asset markets in preparation for impending regulations.

Announced on July 31, 2018, SBI Holdings invested $9 million in Clear Markets to create a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform.

Japanese financial services powerhouse SBI Holdings invested 1 billion yen in Clear Markets to develop a cryptocurrency derivatives platform for institutional investors, reports Nikkei Asian Review.

Through its Clear Markets investment, SBI plans to deliver several new investment products tied to the price movement of cryptocurrencies in the form of swaps, futures, and options.

With the availability of cryptocurrency derivatives, institutional investors will have key safeguards against direct cryptocurrency investing - avoiding the safekeeping of private keys and eliminating the risk of exchange hacks.

Currently, only two regulated cryptocurrency derivative markets exist in the U.S., Chicago-based CBOE and CME futures exchanges, which offer Bitcoin future contracts.

While institutional investors can trade OTC-listed cryptocurrency investment products, such as Grayscale's Bitcoin Investment Trust and Ethereum Investment Trust, no custodian solution exists on primary public exchanges as of yet.

On July 27, Nasdaq held a closed-door meeting with traditional exchange and cryptocurrency company executives to discuss the future of the nascent sector.

Among the attendees were Gemini exchange co-founders, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss who joined half a dozen other company representatives to discuss the implications of future cryptocurrency regulations and what tools and surveillance technologies would be required in the onset of regulated security token markets.

Considered the "Goldman Sachs of Crypto," Galaxy Digital will invest in cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, trade digital assets and offer advisory services.