Bitcoin posted its most stable year in 2015. Does the emergence of regulated bitcoin exchanges have something to do with it? Cameron Winklevoss, president, and co-founder of Gemini thinks it does.

As an officer for a regulated exchange, Winklevoss is not an unbiased observer. Nonetheless, Finance Magnate deemed his input relevant in exploring what impact regulated exchanges are having on attracting more mainstream investors to bitcoin.

Regulated Exchanges Emerge

Gemini is one of two exchanges regulated as a financial services entity by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the other being itBit.

NYDFS granted trust charters to itBit and Gemini, both of which are based in New York. They can operate in all U.S. states as fully-regulated financial services entities and are exempt from the NYDFS BitLicense regulations the state enacted last year.

Some observers have theorized that mainstream investors, as opposed to day traders, would bring stability to bitcoin’s price.

Bitcoin Becomes Less Volatile

Last year was bitcoin’s least volatile year, Finance Magnates noted. Bitcoin was more stable than some conventional commodities, including stocks and currencies exposed to stocks.

Gemini has gained traction since its October launch and currently ranks as the 12th largest exchange based on USD trading, according to bitcoinity.org’s 30-day data.

Winklevoss said more mainstream investors are getting behind bitcoin. He said traditional financial institutions are willing to work with regulated bitcoin exchanges and are investing in greater numbers.

Gemini recruited leading compliance and security talent when preparing for its launch, Winklevoss said, and went beyond what the BitLicense regulations required. Being a trusted company, he said Gemini has to meet the highest levels of regulatory, compliance, and capitalization requirements.

Winklevoss and his brother, Tyler, also launched the first publicly-traded vehicle on a major North American equities market that provides exposure to bitcoin prices. Envisaging an exchange-traded fund (EFT), the brothers’ bid trades under the COIN symbol on the Nasdaq market and is pending Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval.

A Trend Worth Noting

Mainstream investment does not guarantee the long-term value of an asset, Finance Magnates noted. But for those who want to know if bitcoin trading has evolved from its “Wild West” days, the current trend is worth paying attention to.

Cameron Winklevoss said the “institutionalization” of bitcoin trading is currently taking place. “It will be a very exciting next 12 months as these types of investors enter the market,” he said.

Featured image from Flickr.