Exchanges Round-Up: Coinjar Launches Aussie Crypto Fund, Square Trades OTC

In recent news pertaining to virtual currency exchanges, Coinjar has launched Australia’s first cryptocurrency index fund; Square’s latest quarterly report has revealed that company is executing its crypto trades via the over-the-counter (OTC) markets rather than “public cryptocurrency exchanges;” and Poloniex has launched EOS pairings.

Also Read: SEC Has No Jurisdiction to Look at Bitcoin for ETF Decision, Admits Commissioner

Coinjar Launches Australia’s First Crypto Index Fund

Coinjar, a financial and cryptocurrency services company based in Australia and the United Kingdom that claims to have processed over $1.2 billion in virtual currency transactions, has announced the launch of Australia’s first cryptocurrency index fund.

The “Coinjar Digital Currency Fund” is an index fund targeting wholesale investors. Eligible investors must have net assets of at least $2.5 million AUD or have a gross income of no less than $250,000 AUD for the previous two years. Minimum contributions from new investors have been set at $50,000 AUD, whilst current investors are able to make incremental payments of at least $10,000 AUD.

The fund has two “classes”; ‘Bitcoin Class’ – “which provides exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) only”; and ‘Mixed Class’ – which “aims to track the performance of four digital currencies, weighted by fixed supply – Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC).” The fund does not incur “establishment costs, contribution fees, or performance fees,” however, “Management fees are 1.3% per annum for Bitcoin Class and 1.8% per annum for Mixed Class plus normal operating costs.”

Jordan Michaelides, institutional head at Coinjar, stated: “We are launching the Coinjar Digital Currency Fund to handle the custody risks, simplify the investment process and provide industry best practice in security for wholesale investors.”

Quarterly Report Shows Square is Trading Crypto Via OTC Markets Rather Than Exchanges

Financial and merchant services company, Square, Inc., has revealed in its most recent quarterly report that the company is trading bitcoin via “private broker-dealers” rather than “public cryptocurrency exchanges.”

Analysts have speculated that the move will facilitate Square providing a cryptocurrency platform with reduced price volatility when trading larger volume. Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at Coinshares, stated, “Working with a broker likely gets Square better pricing and better execution services than floating orders on the open market, as well as more confidentiality.”

Hunter Horsley, the chief executive officer of Bitwise Asset Management, has also praised Square’s decision to trade via the OTC markets. “There are many merits to trading OTC, which might be motivating Square’s switch,” Hunter said, emphasizing the reduced risk of slippage when trading OTC. “Prices, net of fees, are often better, especially for large orders,” he added.

Poloniex Launches EOS Pairings

Poloniex has announced the introduction of pairings for the fourth most traded and fifth largest cryptocurrency market by capitalization, EOS. Pairings are now live for EOS/USDT, EOS/BTC, and EOS/ETH.

At present, Poloniex has expressed that it plans to only support EOS mainnet tokens, and “will not be accepting deposits of the ERC-20 variant or providing conversion to mainnet tokens.” Additionally, Poloniex “will not be supporting EOS airdrops for the time being.”

What is your response to Square’s move to trade crypto via the OTC markets rather than major exchanges? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Square Inc., Poloniex

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