Coinbase, the Silicon Valley-backed cryptocurrency exchange, is taking a step towards increasing its appeal to institutional investors; by introducing Over-The-Counter () digital asset trading.
Coinbase to Offer ‘Block Trading’
According to a on Business Insider on May 1, 2018, will initiate the process of ‘block trading,’ that allows for investors and traders to place orders – usually in the magnitude of millions of dollars – by means of a special trading order book. Block trades wouldn’t be shown in the ‘normal’ trading book and prevents large orders from dramatically moving the market.
Similar to , Coinbase seeks out the corporate and institutional audience as its client demographic, while always maintaining a high standard of legal compliance and keeping away from regulatory controversy.
One of the present concerns in the markets is its lack of function for institutional investors, who typically trade in the millions and choose regulated platforms. However, the current market is nascent for such trading activities, as a large order can cause instant price swings in the volatile market.
Also, in case an investor chooses to purchase “X” quantity of a thinly-traded ‘,’ there’s an off-chance that the order isn’t ‘filled,’ or, causes the characteristic “pump,” during which the price rises by a massive percentage over a very short timeframe.
To combat these issues, Coinbase’s block trading would ensure institutional orders are filled outside of the regular order-books, by selling to external markets and updating the transactions after a short delay; this would help prevent the enormous price swings to an extent.
Coinbase is shaking up its trading platform as well, by introducing new services to be as close to a reputed equity exchange. The exchange is in the process of recruiting a “Market Structure Head,” who would explore liquidity incentive programs, new order types, and other market safeguards.
As per Larry Tab, the developers would beef up liquidity on Coinbase, as well as appealing to institutional investors:
“Those are the things they need to be thinking about, how do we get Virtu, Citadel, DRW, Susquehanna to make markets. It’s going to be a combination of incentives, order types, connectivity, co-location, and pricing.”
Crypto-Exchanges Increasingly Adding Features to Attract Institutional Investors
The block trading service would be launched on Coinbase’s exchange, the world’s eleventh-largest crypto-exchange by .
Several crypto-exchanges are ramping up services to cater to the rising institutional demand. In April 2018, the Winklevoss Brothers-owned launched its .
Circle, wholly owned by , offers block trading as well, and recently announced its increase in minimum trading size for an order, setting it at $500,000 from the earlier $250,000.
Coinbase also offers its “” service, which acts as a digital-vault for clients whose cryptocurrency holdings are valued at more than $10 million.
Furthermore, the San Francisco-based Coinbase will set-up a new office in Chicago for its block trading service, presumably to operate in the vicinity of Chicago’s top trading institutions, such as , the , and Markets.
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The cases of crypto-related seem to be on the increase with each passing day, in tandem with the surging price of and other cryptocurrencies. However, it appears the game will soon be over for at least a few crypto robbers as Dubai police have integrated AI into crime fighting and have used the technology to aid the arrest of the criminals responsible for an armed bitcoin heist of $1.9 million.
Deceived and Robbed
According to local news outlet Gulf News, the Dubai police force have at least ten members of a deadly gang who allegedly attacked two brothers looking for where to buy bitcoin, stealing roughly $1.9 million in the process.
The incident took place in the Al Muraqqabat area of Dubai on April 25, 2018. Per sources close to the matter, the two men were interested in buying a hefty amount of the world’s flagship cryptocurrency. Then, they were lured by the bandits to an office which they claimed was owned by them.
(Source: )
The criminals allegedly gained access to the office by tricking the owner of the shop into believing they were interested in buying the property.
“[The culprit] told [the victim] that he [wanted] to buy his office and the license, and managed to get the key to check the office after 8 pm. The gang used the office to lure the two brothers to come to the office to sell them the bitcoin. The owner of the office was a victim in their criminal plan,” said Lt Colonel Adel Al Joker, Director of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Dubai Police.
While at the fake’office, the bitcoiners were assaulted and stripped of their hard earned cash by the hoodlums who immediately took to the streets. Al Joke reported the following:
“The brothers searched randomly in the market to buy bitcoin. The gang lured them claiming they can sell them bitcoin. [The gang] assaulted the two brothers and threatened them, before tying their hands and locking them inside the office, escaping[ing] with the money.”
Nowhere to Hide
According to the police chief, the criminals were apprehended within 48 hours and the entire funds recovered from the bad actors. The operation would have been entirely impossible if not for the use of unique AI systems and “smart programs.”
“Using AI helped Dubai Police to arrest a Gulf National, who is the head of the gang, and other Asian suspects. The information from the data analysis center helped the officers to arrest all gang members,” said Major General AI Mansouri.
In recent times there have many reported cases of crypto-related robberies, and this phenomenon is worrisome indeed.
On January 30, 2018, for instance, BTCManager the case of a UK Businessman who was robbed by gunmen at his residence and then succeeded in transferring millions of dollars worth of bitcoin from his address. Although no lives were lost, the incident went on record as the first reported case of bitcoin-related armed robbery in the United Kingdom.
As long as cryptocurrencies remain valuable digital assets, bad actors will continue to do what they know how to do best. Therefore, it’s essential hodlers talk less about their digital portfolios and remain security conscious at all times.
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