Transaction speed is the next frontier for digital asset trading, enabling institutional investors to seize market opportunities faster. What is more important – speed or security? The debate has divided digital asset traders for years.
Transaction speed is the next frontier for digital asset trading, enabling institutional investors to seize market opportunities faster. What is more important – speed or security? The debate has divided digital asset traders for years.
According to Bitfinex, the digital token trading platform which offers state-of-the-art services for traders and global Liquidity Providers, the answer is both. Through strategic partnerships, Bitfinex has created an institutional calibre offering, providing customers with a robust, fast, safe infrastructure to enable them to offer digital asset trading to clients.
Its business relationship with crypto custodian Copper provides the financial plumbing to bridge the gap between DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) and traditional finance, providing a way to comply with exacting institutional risk management rules in the digital asset world.
“Over the last three years we have witnessed a rapid maturation of institutional crypto-assets, due in large part to the growing number of asset managers who are moving into the space from traditional markets. They bring with them high expectations for capital efficiency and greater controls around market access, which has led to technology and infrastructure common in traditional markets being built to meet the unique attributes of crypto-assets. This professionalisation of our industry is having a net-positive impact on the entirety of the digital asset ecosystem, making it a more attractive investment space for institutions and large corporates,” said Alex Ryvkin, CPO at Copper.
“Our platform’s relationship with Copper is driving uptake of digital asset trading amongst hedge fund and asset managers worldwide, transforming how institutional customers engage with digital assets, by providing market-leading custody and trading solutions,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex.
Ardoino added that it is part of Bitfinex’s ongoing strategy of building a service fit for institutional trading, which began when it selected Market Synergy GmbH to build a bespoke network for Bitfinex to address a gap in the market. “We are now at the forefront of delivering robust, high performance, rapid connectivity for institutional clients,” said Ardoino.
Institutional standard connectivity
Market Synergy GmbH is a Swiss-based organisation which offers institutional standard cryptocurrency connectivity for hedge funds, banks and brokers through a highly secure, reliable network which is monitored and supported 24×7. Any institution wanting to trade digital assets can connect with Market Synergy via a FIX feed or ISP link and access Bitfinex’s wide selection of digital assets. Market Synergy also offers colocation services to any Bitfinex institutional client.
James Banister, CEO, Market Synergy adds, “Market Synergy is part of the FXecosystem group of companies and we have over a decade of experience in outsourced connectivity for institutional clients. We have applied the same high standards to our digital asset infrastructure that we use in the FX market. Being secure, robust, fast and reliable, the network performs without interruption, even with recent, exceptional demand. Since launching our joint offering with Bitfinex, we have built an impressive worldwide client base including hedge funds, specialist crypto funds, professional traders and brokers, enabling both speed and security of transaction.”
So what’s next on the agenda? “We are proud to have Bitfinex as a key partner in ClearLoop, Copper’s instant off-exchange settlement and clearing network, commented Ryvkin at Copper. “As the efficiency of crypto-markets improves and regulatory standards evolve, the institutional investment space gets more and more competitive. To keep winning, asset managers will have to prioritise infrastructure that is able to facilitate the full spectrum of traditional strategies, and beyond, alleviating some of the most common risks associated with the crypto-space.”
Ryvkin says with more pillars such as Bitfinex joining ClearLoop, he is confident Copper will continue its work to bridge the gap between traditional and crypto-market infrastructure, catering to the needs of the most sophisticated institutions in the world who are now entering this space.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO, Bitfinex
Paolo Ardoino joined Bitfinex in early 2015 and now serves as CTO, developing and managing core parts of the Bitfinex backend architecture. Paolo has been building valuable tools and infrastructure for financial innovation for the past 15 years.
Alex Ryvkin, CPO, Copper
Alex Ryvkin is the Chief Product Officer at Copper – a pioneering digital assets custody and settlement provider. His career in financial services spans more than a decade, spent between the UK, Russia and the Middle East, advising globally recognised institutional investors on a range of asset classes and transactions. Since returning to the UK in 2017 he has set up and run two successful fintechs in the investment and digital assets space. He holds an MBA from London Business School, along with a set of professional certifications.
James Banister, CEO, Market Synergy
James Banister founded Market Synergy GmbH in 2018 to complement the FXecosystem group of companies. Market Synergy provides institutional-grade connectivity to the digital asset market place. James has been involved in the FX industry for 25 years with roles at Citigroup and Bear Stearns. He is also a NED of Natterbox, a leading VoIP telephony integrator into Salesforce.
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