UPDATED 22:58 EST / JANUARY 21 2018

EMERGING TECH

Intercontinental Exchange will bring live cryptocurrency data to hedge fund investors

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. is bringing bitcoin and cryptocurrency price data to hedge fund investors in a deal with Blockstream Inc. that will deliver a cryptocurrency price data feed based on real-time information from more than 15 exchanges.

The feed will offer information on prices, trading volume and order book for several leading cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, with the prices to be quoted against the U.S. dollar and other major currency pairs.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the feed, due to launch in March, will involve the transmission of cryptocurrency information over ICE’s high-speed data network in the same digital format used in electronic stocks trading, helping it fit into the systems favored by big banks, high-speed traders and asset managers. The report noted that the feed may assist in drawing more “financial heavyweights” into the cryptocurrency market and would “represent a big step forward from the way many bitcoin investors now monitor prices and trading activity.”

“With the broad array of cryptocurrencies and exchanges, and given the price variances between exchanges, it’s critical that investors have a comprehensive source of pricing information,” ICE Data Services President and Chief Operating Officer Lynn Martin said in a statement.

ICE’s move adds to growing momentum across traditional exchanges and finance groups to embrace cryptocurrencies. Cboe Global Markets exchange was the first old-school exchange to embrace cryptocurrencies when it launched bitcoin futures contracts Dec. 12. A week later, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange joined the party with its own bitcoin futures contracts.

Bitcoin’s journey to the mainstream via traditional financial instruments hasn’t been all plain sailing, however. An attempt by NYSE Acra to obtain approval for a number of exchange-traded funds was withdrawn earlier this month based on advice from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image: Pixabay

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