Coinbase Quietly Opened Its OTC Crypto Trading Desk This Month

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U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase opened its over-
the-counter (OTC) crypto trading desk earlier this month.
In an interview with news source Cheddar on Tuesday, Coinbase
head of sales Christine Sandler said that the firm launched the
OTC desk as a complement to its exchange business because
institutions are using OTC as an “on-ramp for crypto trading”
In an OTC transaction, a trade takes place between two parties
directly, unlike on an exchange where orders are matched between
third-party buyers and sellers.

“We felt this was a huge benefit to our clients to actually leverage
both our exchange and our OTC business,” Sandler said.

Currently, the OTC service is available for Coinbase Prime
customers – that is, financial institutions looking to trade with
business funds.

Going forward, Sandler said, the service is likely to be integrated
with Coinbase Custody, its institutional product available for
hedge funds and other high-net-worth clients, that was launched
in July.

Coinbase first revealed its plan to offer an OTC trading desk in
June, when Asiff Hirji, its chief operating officer and president said
that acquiring regulatory licenses would help the firm take a “path
to offer future services that include crypto securities trading,
margin and over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and new market data
products.”

The exchange received approval from the New York State
Department of Financial Services to form a qualified custodial firm
for cryptocurrencies in late October.

With the launch, Coinbase joins other notable crypto firms in
offering OTC services. Goldman Sachs-backed crypto finance firm
Circle also has an OTC desk called Circle Trade, available for both
individual and institutional investors with a minimum ticket size of
$250,00.

Source : https://www.coindesk.com