Bitcoin’s about to get easier for Wall Street pros to trade

The company that developed one of the most popular pieces of trading software is about to make it easier for professionals to bet on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Trading Technologies International, whose products let traders buy and sell on major exchanges, plans to add the cryptocurrency marketplace Coinbase to its roster of venues in March, according to a statement on Thursday. Coinbase, the biggest US crypto market, offers Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether and Litecoin.

This will strengthen ties between the professional trading community and cryptocurrencies, letting them use software they’re already accustomed to. And the connection might enable arbitrage between Bitcoin and the Bitcoin futures contracts offered by Cboe Global Markets and CME, which Trading Technologies customers can already trade.

“Institutions are trading with increasing frequency and regularity in these markets, although they’re doing so without institutional-grade, professional-grade technology,” Rick Lane, the chief executive officer of Trading Technologies, said in a phone interview.

“They’re largely underserved and there’s a lot of trading volume and trading opportunity left on the table.”

TT, as the company is known, says it counts 19 of the 20 largest firms that deal in futures as customers and connects to nearly 45 markets around the world.

Cboe and CME started offering Bitcoin futures on their exchanges last month. Together, they handled contracts worth about $150m of Bitcoin on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The partnership between TT and Coinbase “will absolutely move the needle in terms of the futures volume”, Lane said.