A number of traditional investment firms are looking to get into the crypto game, which has left TD Ameritrade playing catch up. One of TD Ameritrade’s biggest competitors is Robinhood – which recently announced crypto trading support. In an effort to catapult itself into the crypto market, TD Ameritrade has heavily invested in crypto trading platform ErisX.
TD Ameritrade is clearly looking to cash in on the crypto boom, as more people gear up for a potentially great end to the year. Crypto markets have been stagnating over the past few months, but top minds in the industry believe that crypto is set to bounce back in time for Q1 2019.
TD Ameritrade Looking Out for Its Customers
When it comes to customer care, it appears that TD Ameritrade is looking to raise the bar. It has noted that its clients want to be able to trade the crypto markets, so in a bid to give its clients a stress-free way to trade it has invested heavily into a crypto trading startup. In a statement, Steve Quirk – TD Ameritrade Executive Vice President of Trading and Education – said, “Our retail clients are looking to access and trade digital currency products in the same way they do with traditional capital markets – through a legitimate, regulated and transparent exchange. That’s precisely why we chose to invest in ErisX – to make digital currency products more accessible to retail clients.”
SEC Still a Hindrance
Unfortunately for TD Ameritrade, the SEC is still standing in the way of progress. The SEC has declined multiple Bitcoin ETF applications over the past few months, but the tide does seem to be turning. A group of US lawmakers wrote a very strongly worded letter to the SEC in a bid to sway its mind. The lawmakers agreed upon the fact that the SEC is damaging the US crypto industry and if it carries on with its negative attitude there could be dark days ahead.
Investing in the Future
When it comes to investing in the future, crypto platforms are more than happy to help the next generation evolve. Bittrex recently made a large investment into a Maltese crypto startup. The €15 million investment will help the startup buy a bank and merge the crypto world with traditional finance.
If everything goes to plan, TD Ameritrade should be ready to offer crypto spot trading by Q2 2019. ErisX is still waiting for regulators to give it the green light, but once it gets the go-ahead, it will be all systems go for the two firms. 2019 is looking to be a promising year for crypto traders with multiple new exchanges opening their doors and expanding their operations.
