- XP, Brazil’s largest broker, plans to allow bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading to its 3.5 million customers.
- Nasdaq partnered with XP to create the XTAGE trading platform, which is expected to release this June.
- BitGo will be XP’s custodial partner, keeping most of the bitcoin and other assets in cold storage for security.
XP, Brazil’s largest broker according to market value, is planning to launch a cryptocurrency trading platform that will allow its customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a translated report from Info Money.
The platform will go by the name XTAGE and was developed in partnership with Nasdaq to be integrated into the XP app with expected an operability timeframe near the end of June. XTAGE will initially only launch for bitcoin and one other cryptocurrency.
“Nasdaq’s robust and flexible infrastructure technology, designed to meet market demands, as well as current and future regulatory structures, will allow XP to scale its platform reliably and introduce new asset classes as they grow and evolve,” said Roland Chai, executive vice president and head of market technology infrastructure at Nasdaq.
Cryptocurrency portfolios will be integrated with other investments in the app allowing customers to frictionlessly interact with the interface they are already accustomed to. This functionality will bring bitcoin to XP’s 3.5 million customers.
An internal survey conducted by XP shows over 60% of its customers are interested in buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and of the customers currently investing in these assets outside of XP, 80% of those customers would like to use a trading platform designed by XP.
Director of financial products at XP, Lucas Rabechini was reportedly asked about fees associated with using the platform and said he can assure his users that they will “have super competitive rates.”
Customers looking to use XTAGE will have a wallet that is capable of holding their bitcoin, however the ability to transfer funds to a different wallet will not be included at launch. XP will reportedly offer the transfer functionality at a later date.
BitGo will be XP’s custodial partner and most of the assets will be held in cold wallets, which Rabechini explained will increase the security of the platform.