GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GCAP) today announced the launch of Bitcoin trading in Australia and Singapore on the Company’s City Index branded service, which is regulated by ASIC and MAS, respectively.
GAIN Capital’s Bitcoin offering enables its customers to trade the value of the cryptocurrency through a highly-regulated, trusted broker, without the need to set up a digital wallet to take delivery of and store tokens. GAIN currently offers Bitcoin trading either as an over-the-counter (OTC) derivative or as a future, both of which allow traders to speculate on Bitcoin price movements without owning the underlying asset. Where permitted by regulation, customers may trade Bitcoin on margin.
Glenn Stevens, GAIN Capital
For those who want exposure to Bitcoin, trading the cryptocurrency as a derivative with a regulated brokerage firm offers several key advantages over a Bitcoin exchange,” commented Glenn Stevens, Chief Executive Officer of GAIN Capital. “We view these benefits as: competitive fees and margin rates, the ability to go long or short, enhanced price discovery via aggregated liquidity from multiple Bitcoin market makers and exchanges, and fast trade execution.
The launch in Australia and Singapore follows the launch of Bitcoin trading to customers in the U.K. and Europe last month across the Company’s City Index and FOREX.com brands. The Company’s Bitcoin futures offering in the U.S. is available through its Futures Online and Daniels Trading brands.
GAIN plans to complete the global roll out of Bitcoin trading in the coming months, introducing Bitcoin trading to its customers in other markets in Asia and the United States. The Company also plans to expand its cryptocurrency offering to include Ethereum and other digital currencies in early 2018.