Custodial Bitgo Clients Can Now Access Genesis Global’s OTC Pools

On Wednesday, cryptocurrency custodial service Bitgo and over-the-counter (OTC) brokerage house Genesis Global announced a partnership to provide fast and secure trades directly from Genesis’ cold storage solution. Essentially, institutional investors who store their assets with Bitgo will be able to access cryptocurrency quotes in a high-frequency fashion similar to acquiring stocks or equities from traditional market makers.

Also Read: New Full Node Client ‘Bitcoin Verde’ Joins the BCH Ecosystem

Bitgo Partners With Genesis Global

Cryptocurrency custodial platform Bitgo is adding a new service for its institutional clientele. According to the company announcement on Jan. 16, the firm has partnered with OTC operation Genesis Global Trading by adding a seamless integration to its custodial program with the market maker’s cold storage reserves. Now Bitgo customers can buy and sell with Genesis directly for no additional fees and purchase assets such as bitcoin core (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC), ripple (XRP), and zcash (ZEC).

The Genesis OTC and loan service was granted a Bitlicense in the state of New York last May and has continued to expand into 2019. More recently, Genesis Global released a financial report in October for 2018’s third quarter that shows the lender provided $553 million worth of crypto-infused loans. In the company’s press statements, Bitgo CEO Mike Belshe indicates that he thinks custodial clients will appreciate access to the digital asset liquidity Genesis provides. Further, the executive explained during the announcement that because Genesis is a regulated U.S. institution, this builds confidence among institutional investors and high net worth individuals.

“Some custodians are choosing to sacrifice security and safety by enabling fast withdrawals from cold-storage which makes their clients more susceptible to hacking, false instructions, and theft,” Belshe detailed. “Our partnership with Genesis, a FINRA and SEC regulated company, gives our clients access to liquidity through Genesis’ robust network of trading partners — And that solves the real problem which is the need to access liquidity – not the need to speed up withdrawals.”

Deep Liquidity for Institutional Clientele Interested in Cryptocurrencies

With the new partnership, Bitgo’s clients can maintain all their assets with the firm’s Bitgo Trust Company and get real-time pricing for buy and sell orders. Traders can access Genesis assets without having to manage private keys as everything is custodian purpose-built. Moreover, clients will find that Genesis has deep liquidity and the service provides same day settlement via the Bitgo Trust account. Bitgo originally launched its new custodial suite last year in May and was further granted regulatory approval to provide cryptocurrency storage services to U.S. investors last September. Genesis CEO Michael Moro explained that Bitgo will continue to be a long-term partner and he has “a lot of confidence in their institutional offerings.”

“We are an industry leader in digital currency trading and lending, and providing liquidity for companies like Bitgo is an important part of our value proposition,” the Genesis executive stated on Wednesday.

Services directed at institutional clients have flourished in recent months and custodial offerings and OTC desks were a major focal point in 2018. OTC desks like Cumberland Mining and Circle Trades have seen significant upticks in this area over the last six months. For instance, Circle told its investors that its over-the-counter operations swapped a notional volume of $24 billion last year. Other well-known companies such as Coinbase, Etoro, Blockchain, and Hodl Hodl all announced the launch of OTC desks and custodial solutions for institutional investors. Bitgo’s Trust solution and Genesis hope institutional investors and high net worth individuals will be enticed by “deep pools of liquidity” and Bitgo’s popular security solutions.  

What do you think about the latest partnership between Bitgo and Genesis Global? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.  

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Bitgo, and Genesis Global Trading.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.