TradFi giants target the Crypto Assets market, planning to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services

A leading financial services company in the United States, managing assets over $10 trillion, is accelerating its presence in the encryption currency sector. The company's CEO recently stated that they will launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services to meet the growing demand from clients and to compete directly with existing crypto asset platforms.

This traditional financial giant not only plans to launch crypto asset trading services but is also considering issuing stablecoins and researching the tokenization sector based on customer demand. As the regulatory environment in the United States gradually becomes clearer, the company's actions may change the competitive landscape of the crypto asset market.

Targeting the Crypto Assets Trading Market

The CEO of the company revealed during a media interview that they are preparing to enter the Bitcoin trading space. He stated: "Our customers have already invested in Crypto Assets. In fact, the Crypto ETP held by our customers accounts for over 20% of the entire industry." Nevertheless, he also pointed out that the current holdings of Crypto Assets only represent about $25 billion of "the $10.8 trillion total assets of our clients, so it is still relatively small."

The CEO stated that the company "expects to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services soon, so that customers can access these assets." He believes that this service could become an important growth driver for the company.

"We hear from many clients that they have 98% of their wealth in our accounts, and they might keep 1% or 2% with some digital native companies to hold their crypto assets, but they actually want to bring those assets back to us because they trust us," the CEO said. "They want these assets to be managed alongside other assets, so we believe that when we launch these products into the market, we should see actual growth."

When asked whether it would directly compete with existing crypto assets trading platforms, the CEO stated: "Absolutely. If they buy crypto assets on other platforms, we would love to see them bring those crypto assets back to us."

Accelerate Layout in the Crypto Assets Field

Founded in 1971, this financial services company was originally named First Commander Corporation and was renamed in 1973. The company took advantage of the financial deregulation of the 1970s to launch a discount securities sales business. After opening a flagship store in Sacramento, California, the company expanded to Seattle, with the economic expansion in the United States during the 1980s providing funding for the company's investments in technology, automation, and digital record-keeping. The company pioneered around-the-clock order entry and quotation services and was acquired by Bank of America in 1983. Three years later, due to the strong performance of the company’s investment funds, the founder bought the company back for $280 million.

In recent years, the company has continued to focus on the Crypto Assets sector. In July 2022, the company launched its first Crypto Assets-related ETF, which aims to track the proprietary index launched by the company's asset management division. However, the index does not directly track or invest in Crypto Assets, but rather uses artificial intelligence technology and systematic models to identify, select, and measure companies related to the Crypto Assets theme.

Currently, this ETF has become the company's largest Crypto Assets product, with total net assets nearing $160 million as of recent.

Stablecoins and Tokenization Plans

According to reports, during the company's recent summer conference call, the CEO also stated that the company will launch a stablecoin. However, regarding tokenization, he took a cautious wait-and-see approach, believing it is hard to see what problems it can solve for the public stock market.

The CEO categorizes crypto assets into three types: Bitcoin is an independent category; tokens required for blockchain transactions, which he believes have value; the third category is meme coins, which the company does not plan to offer.

Regarding stablecoins, the CEO stated: "We have already collaborated with major banks and alliances to discuss how to bring stablecoins to market. At the same time, we are also exploring our own avenues, and we will make the decisions that are most beneficial to our customers."

When it comes to tokenization, the CEO did not completely dismiss the concept, but rather said: "We will see how this trend develops and in which asset classes it becomes more mainstream. I think for the public stock markets, we have to ask ourselves, what problem does tokenization solve?"

Despite the fact that 24/7 trading of tokenized assets is one of its advantages, he pointed out that the company currently offers 24/5 trading, with only 1% of trades occurring during non-standard trading hours. Additionally, the public stock market is very transparent, liquid, and efficient, and he is unsure whether tokenization can provide these advantages. He also expressed concerns about anti-money laundering (AML) and malicious actors in the tokenization space.

The CEO stated that the company is exploring tokenization and will provide this service if there is customer demand. However, he also mentioned that if the entire market moves in this direction, he hopes to ensure that tokenization is at least on par with existing levels in terms of transparency, liquidity, and cost. He further stated, "For any new innovation, we hope it expands this field rather than takes us backward."