Blockchain, the Bitcoin wallet provider and blockchain explorer announced yesterday that it was on the verge of launching “the fastest crypto exchange in the world”, called The PIT. The new exchange will launch with 26 assets rolling out over the next two weeks, with Blockchain able to connect almost 40 million proprietary wallets directly to the exchange and with non-custodial wallets also accepted. The overall aim is to try and replicate the Wall Street experience, with trades done in microseconds, something as yet not achieved by even on the best crypto exchanges.
1/ The secret is finally out ?we’re launching The PIT, the fastest crypto exchange in the world (come find us at https://t.co/egT1Ca3BfU or @BlockchainPIT on Twitter and Instagram) pic.twitter.com/EObq2CmSgP
— Blockchain (@blockchain) July 30, 2019
Benefits of Co-Location
The PIT’s matching-engine will be set up in London’s Equinix LD4 data center, currently ranked the sixth-best in the UK for its speed and services, which PIT wants to use to attract more liquidity than competitors such as Binance. This use of co-location is precisely how Wall Street trading firms operate, trying to get their servers as physically close to exchanges as possible to gain hundredths of a second speed advantages. While Blockchain won’t need to go to these lengths at present, it is nevertheless indicative of the direction in which the crypto markets could be headed as advantages are sought in the fledgling space.
The Proof is in the Red Candles
Blockchain built their exchange using the talents of an “all-star team of veterans from NYSE, TD Ameritrade, Google, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Interactive Brokers, and Revolut” and they say it will offer unrivalled speed, reliability, institutional liquidity, and fiat onramps to name just a few features. Of course, no one really knows how PIT will perform until it’s put under the stress of a $2,000 dollar BTC red candle, but it seems that the infrastructure they have put in place might be enough to offer serious traders a step up from what it currently available.
