Exchanges Over the Last Year
Cryptocurrency exchanges are that point of harmony where anyone can access their favorite cryptocurrency using their fiat or digital money. It's the point at which all people in the space get their cryptocurrencies, trade them and sell them in real time on the open market. It's become an ever increasingly profitable business over the past year and has contributed greatly to the growth of the cryptocurrency market cap. Regulation has of course implicated it's limitations upon certain exchanges, but overall they have remained in the interest of investors and financial institutions alike and are set to be a hot industry for large players in 2018. Their easy to use platforms, fast executions, real time data and access to altcoins make them very appealing to those looking further than Bitcoin, and offer tremendous value to businesses and consumers entering the growing cryptocurrency market.
Developments Upcoming for Cryptocurrency Exchanges
I reported the other day about how Goldman Sachs has invested £50 million into payment provider company Circle, and are collaborating together in an effort to evolve their user platform by developing CircleInvest. This is a platform that will connect users accounts with their own cryptocurrency exchange for Bitcoin and other prominent currencies, and will allow them to invest their balances into them. Well now the company is rumored to have plans for acquisitioning Poloniex, the world's 14th largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume at over $300m. Board member Raj Date denies any such takeover, but Blocktower capital hedge fund manager Ari Paul says that the report and it's journalist are too credible too lie. Any such takeover would be strategically exponential for Goldman Sachs, Circle and Poloniex, and would see the exchange work co-incisively with CircleInvest to build a larger user base.
Canadian Government has also announced landmark news today as they issue the first blockchain based Exchange Traded fund (ETF) to be established on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company Harvey Portfolio's is the first in the country to be allowed a blockchain operated ETF, and will be called Harvest Blockchain Technology Index. It will use blockchain's distributed ledger technology to analyse market and sector specific performance, indicating trends and opportunities in the market for potential profit. The fund is revolutionary and also very promising to both First trust Portfolios and Evolve Funds Group, who are both seeking the ability to have their own blockchain based ETF on the TSE.
what Does This Mean for Exchanges Futures?
Such developments in the sector of exchanges is significant to the future outlook on Blockchain technology and the adoption of cryptocurrencies in general. Not only are traditional financial and trading platforms recognizing the benefits of transferring to blockchain technology, but they are also recognizing that they are way behind in being the ones who introduce people to the market. With such companies like Circle having an investment power like Sachs behind them days before being rumored to takeover Poloniex could if true show Investments banks eagerness to learn the market and develop their own crypto exchange platforms. Firms like Goldman are restricted by regulation and historical opposition to cryptocurrencies from fully expedition into the market, but through "R and D investments" into other capable firms they can begin to develop their own cryptocurrency exchange framework from within.
Check out my last post about Circle's $50m investment from Goldman Sachs, and my previous post.
https://steemit.com/blockchain/@blockchainboom/blockchain-developer-platform-qtum-goes-to-space