A lot of financial institutions are sensing a bright future of crypto assets and shifting their focus on those gradually. A high ranked official from TD Ameritrade stated in the Consensus 2019 conference that institutional interest in crypto assets has increased significantly. TD Ameritrade, a brokerage firm that operates one of the biggest online tradings views the unaltered trading mindset of the investors despite recent fluctuations in the cryptocurrency price as a positive sign for the digital asset market.

The firm also believes that anyone who wants to start a crypto business can get a lot of clients. The belief is established on the fact that the firm received numerous calls, emails, and more than 60,000 clients traded something in their platform. In contrast to the previous concept that crypto business mainly attracts millennials, nowadays older and established retail investors are seeking business opportunities in digital tokens.

This is clear evidence that institutions are progressively entering the cryptocurrency market. In addition, the number of participants in cryptocurrency-related events hosted by TD Ameritrade in the recent past was beyond the expectation. If a company with over $37 billion assets reveals that the investment advisors are showing more interest in crypto related contracts, what can be more assuring for crypto investors?

Effects of growing institutional interest in crypto

Actions taken by mainstream crypto related firms due to the growing institutional interest in digital assets are quite apparent. The largest crypto exchange firm of the USA, Coinbase, is switching its focus to serve the needs of an increasing number of institutional investors. The company stated this intention after some changes in the recent past. It has been circulated that Coinbase has filed to terminate its Political Action Committee (PAC) with the American Federal Election Commission (FEC).

The filing was probably pre-planned because there is no transaction history in the balance sheet of PAC in 2019. FEC regulations require a PAC to file a termination report to close it down and the report must show that the PAC did not receive any funding or make any payments. Soon after the filing, Coinbase confirmed that it had closed its Chicago office in an attempt to reduce its high-frequency trade matching engine. In an interview with a crypto magazine, Coinbase revealed that the company is planning to bring some changes to its business focus.

So what is the new business focus? Trimming down high-frequency trading might indicate the introduction of new product offerings. Coinbase official confessed that the company is putting an effort to meet the needs of the institutions that are potential candidates for crypto business. Coinbase director of communications Elliott Suthers stated that institutional customers are imparting a lot of growth for them.

The wide range of institutions that they serve includes asset issuers, pension funds, and university endowments, to name a few. Suthers added that the company is trying to build features and services that are high in demand and able to serve all types of customers. The flourishing business of Coinbase is reflected by the colossal amount of customer assets in custody business which is currently worth more than $700 million.

The recent negative trend in crypto market could not discourage institutions

NewsBTC reported that although the crypto market experienced some negative trends in the recent past, the real scenario is that more and more institutions are making their bets on cryptocurrency technology. One such event that confused some investors was the announcement of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) that it might terminate crypto futures contracts due to lack of interest.

However, the market saw a totally opposite picture, as evidenced by the new investment of $850 million into this sphere since the beginning of 2019. Another good example includes the Liquid exchange, which noticed its value increased to $1 billion after the completion of a Series C funding round. Bakkt also recently collected $182 million from 12 investors.

Although there are some barriers to crypto business including regulatory uncertainty, lack of trust among users etc; firms involved in crypto development are putting constant effort to resolve those.