By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
A crypto quantitative analyst spotted a BTC/USD trading pair listed on Nasdaq platform. Speculations of Bitcoin trading on Nasdaq are at the peak.
It’s great news for Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts and the crypto community as Nasdaq is possibly testing the trading of a Bitcoin-based product. Cryptopolis, a quantitative analyst at StrongMarket, tweeted about purchasing one BTC on the Nasdaq platform through his TD Ameritrade account.
Cryptopolis also noted that the BTC trading was available since April 10 on the Nasdaq platform.
https://twitter.com/cryptopolis_x/status/1120352266836426752
As we can see, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading against the U.S. Dollar under the ‘CXERX’ ticker symbol. However, Cryptopolis laters spoke with the support team of TD Ameritrade to clarify this matter. It turned out that this was just a test on Paper Trading platform meaning that you can just simulate a Bitcoin (BTC) buy, but not actually purchase it.
However, the support denied giving additional details regarding this matter. In another tweet, Cryptopolis wrote:
“UPDATE: According to TDAmeritrade support – it’s not a real trade in my account – it appears they are testing only using their Paper Trading platform. Support said “I’m not able to speak on it” -They did not know what CXERX is. Strange… But something is going on for sure!”
Nasdaq’s Bitcoin Trading to Trigger Next Bull Run
Undoubtedly, the availability of Bitcoin trading on the Nasdaq platform could trigger the next bull-run in the crypto market. It would be huge news for the overall crypto community as this could lead to a flood of institutional money flowing into the crypto market.
Since long, Nasdaq has been to step in the crypto market through one or the other route. Nasdaq already provides several crypto exchanges with real-time information on two cryptocurrency indices – Bitcoin and Ethereum. If the world’s second-largest stock exchange allows BTC trading, it will open the floodgates for huge investor participation.
Furthermore, Nasdaq is most likely to launch its Bitcoin futures contracts along with VanEck in the first half of 2018. A Bloomberg report released in November 2018 read:
“Nasdaq has been working to satisfy the concerns of the U.S.’s main swaps regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, before launching the contracts, the people said. The New York exchange operator, which was first reported to be eyeing Bitcoin futures last year, wants to allow trading in the first quarter of 2019, one of the people said.”
Nasdaq is most likely to be accompanied by another big player – Bakkt – who is planning for Bitcoin futures launch ahead this year. The year 2019 is likely to bring some of the most interesting developments in the crypto market.
Since the beginning of April 2019, Bitcoin and the overall crypto market has created a fresh new hope after months of massive crypto winter. Bitcoin price has surged by nearly 30% in the last three weeks as it sets its new target for $6000. Similarly, the overall market has added $40 billion since April 1, as altcoins majorly participate in this month’s bull run.
Litecoin Creator Backs the Nasdaq Development
Soon after the Nasdaq news broke out, the next day, Litecoin creator Charlie Lee tweeted in favor of this development. Lee added that “TD Ameritrade is testing both BTC and LTC trading on its brokerage platform.”
Just saw that TD Ameritrade is testing both BTC and LTC trading on its brokerage platform. 😲 🚀 pic.twitter.com/TVo39oECeH
— Charlie Lee Ⓜ️🕸️ (@SatoshiLite) April 23, 2019
In the same thread, Charlie stressed on the fact that Nasdaq is testing such a product for sure. He wrote: “It’s paper trading, so they are just testing right now, but it’s there for sure”.
Crypto news publication Bitcoin Magazine contacted TD Ameritrade to clarify if the information was correct. Although one spokesperson of the company responded, he neither confirmed nor denied the testing of paper trading. The spokesperson said:
“While we currently offer access to bitcoin futures, bitcoin is not available for spot trading on TD Ameritrade’s platform. We always look to implement products our clients have demand for. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, we take a deliberate approach with a focus on education.”