The beginning of September saw a shift in the mainstream financial approach to cryptocurrencies which could have a significant impact as time goes on. Late in August, Yahoo Finance announced that it would incorporate bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin trading on its platform, according to Coin Telegraph. Prior to that, the platform offered statistics only. Currently, it also offers statistics on altcoins like bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, and EOS, although the trading capacity is limited to the prominent coins mentioned above. This development was heralded by some in the digital currency community as a crucial step toward the mainstream financial world's adoption of digital currencies.

Four Cryptocurrencies Available for Trade

Besides BTC, ETH, and LTC, a fourth cryptocurrency has also been added to Yahoo Finance's roster: dogecoin. Dogecoin began as something of a gimmick, named after a popular meme reference. However, it has gone on to see real success as a digital token as well.

At the time of the announcement, cryptocurrency trading capabilities were available on Yahoo Finance's iOS mobile app only, and not on the desktop version of the trading platform. However, Yahoo has indicated that it plans to include cryptocurrency trading on desktop, mobile web, and Android versions of the platform in the future.

Tradelt Partnership

In order to make the cryptocurrency trades possible, Yahoo partnered with trading hub Tradelt. Tradelt integrates with brokerage services in order to facilitate the trading of financial assets. Yahoo was not the first to seek out Tradelt's services; Coinbase also partnered with the service in 2017.

For some in the Yahoo Finance world, the move toward cryptocurrencies has not been a surprise. Indeed, the financial news service first began its partnership with Tradelt back in September of 2017. At that point, Yahoo Finance offered users the opportunity to do in-app trading of traditional financial assets through the partnership. Up until September of this year, though, the exposure to cryptocurrencies was confined to data on prices and information on portfolio performance, according to Coin Desk. Yahoo Finance first began to track the price of bitcoin back in 2014 and it now covers more than 100 digital currencies across each of its platforms and around the world.

Investing in cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings ("ICOs") is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or ICOs. Since each individual's situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. As of the date this article was written, the author owns bitcoin and ripple.