United States-based Trade Station — a subsidiary of Coincheck owner Monex Group — is launching a cryptocurrency brokerage platform via a newly-launched offshoot called Trade Station Crypto.

As Cointelegraph Japan reported on Nov. 20, the platform will establish an online brokerage model in line with similar platforms that exist for traditional assets in equities, options, futures and forex markets.

Initial support for five major cryptos

As distinct from an exchange, which functions as a self-contained market and can, therefore, lack deep liquidity, Trade Station claims that its crypto brokerage services will provide crypto traders with access to aggregated, multiple liquidity pools, thereby improving price execution.

Via the new platform and services, traders in approved countries and U.S. states will be able to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP), with more cryptos to be supported in the future.

Services will include a smart order-routing system to optimize visibility and trade execution. In a statement, James Putra — TradeStation Crypto’s director of product strategy — noted:

“When we began to explore the crypto space, we saw a fragmented market that lacked efficient means of price discovery and order execution.”

He added that the venture gives priority to maximizing liquidity, market access and fairer pricing. The company’s institutional investor team will be catering to institutional clients by offering them tailored support for their crypto trading.

Monex’s Coincheck acquisition

Trade Station was listed on Nasdaq until its acquisition by Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Monex Group Inc. in 2011. The latter is well-known in the cryptocurrency sector for its acquisition of the Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck in April 2018, which had suffered an industry record-breaking $534 million hack earlier that year.

Earlier this fall, Monex Group revealed it would be paying out dividends denominated in Bitcoin (BTC) as a mid-term shareholder benefit. In July, the firm revealed its intentions to join Facebook’s cryptocurrency project Libra.