The Daily: Genesis Reports 50% Increase in OTC Volume, Bittrex Moves 130,000 BTC

OTC crypto platform Genesis Global Trading has increased its annual trading volume by 50 percent and we’ve got the details in this edition of The Daily. We also feature an announcement by Bittrex which sought to calm traders who spotted 130,000 BTC being moved, and the launch of an offers bot by P2P exchange Hodl Hodl.

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Genesis Trading With 50% Increase in OTC Volume

Over-the-counter (OTC) digital asset platform Genesis Global Trading has recently reported a 50 percent year-over-year increase in its trading volume, despite the continuing bearish trend on the markets which started last year. In a correspondence to its customers, Genesis also noted that the total of crypto loans it gave to institutional clients has reached almost $1 billion in less than a year since the launch of its lending arm, Genesis Capital.

The company began giving loans in bitcoin core (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), ripple (XRP), and other cryptocurrencies in March of last year. The entities that borrow the digital money, usually financial institutions such as hedge funds, use the assets to hedge investment positions and against dropping crypto prices.

Genesis Global Trading, which is part of crypto entrepreneur Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). In May 2018, the company was granted Bitlicense approval by the New York Department of Financial Services, which allows it to operate under the strict regulatory regime in the state.

Crypto Exchange Bittrex Expands Cold Storage

U.S.-based cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex announced it’s reorganizing and expanding its cold storage. The exchange explained in a tweet that the process results in the moving of funds between its cold wallets. The company published the notice to reassure its customers, who’d observed 130,000 BTC being sent in a single transaction, they had nothing to worry about.

The crypto exchange, the 50th most popular by 24-hour trading volume, also made a couple of announcements regarding coins available for trading on its platform. Bittrex users can now trade paxos standard (PAX) with fiat money, after the stablecoin was recently added to its USD market.

“On Jan. 17, we’re launching a US dollar (USD) market for digibyte (DGB). Eligible Bittrex accounts are auto enabled for USD trading,” the platform tweeted on Thursday. In both cases, users who want to deposit or withdraw U.S. dollars via wire transfers should submit an application in advance.

Hodl Hodl Introduces Offers Bot

Peer-to-peer crypto exchange Hodl Hodl has introduced a new feature, in the form of an offers bot. From now on every offer created on the platform will be automatically posted on its Twitter account and Telegram channel, the digital asset trading platform said in a post on Medium. The list of offers will be refreshed every 30 minutes and their maximum number will be three. Private OTC offers will not be posted.

“In 2018 we created a separate Twitter account with the idea to connect cryptocurrency buyers and sellers to the latest and best offers at Hodl Hodl. We have operated this Twitter account manually up until now, and we decided to automate this process,” the developers explained this week. They have created a new Twitter account but the name remains the same – @offershodlhodl.

In the past months, Latvia-based Hodl Hodl has made a number of announcements about new features, including the introduction of non-custodial OTC trading and support for Russian ruble pairs with BTC and LTC. The exchange is also planning expansion in Asia and recently sealed a partnership agreement with Coins OTC, a company operating in the Asian over-the-counter sector.

What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Trading, Hodl Hodl.

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