XP Inc. announced this Thursday (12) the launch of XTAGE, its own platform for trading cryptocurrencies, in partnership with Nasdaq. It will be integrated with XP's application, should be 100% operational by the end of June, and will initially bring the possibility to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
The company says the trading platform will be fully integrated with XP's ecosystem, allowing clients to invest in digital assets without friction with the services they are already accustomed to. In addition, the crypto portfolio will be integrated with the user's other investments.
Bruno Constantino, CFO of XP, says that "at launch, our 3.5 million clients will have access to the trading platform directly in the app they are already familiar with" and that "access to trading will later be extended to new investors as the platform grows."
Internal company research has shown that more than 60% of customers are interested in buying crypto assets, and among those already investing, more than 80% would like to trade with XP.
Initially, the platform will offer the trading of the two largest cryptocurrencies in the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum, but the company says in a statement that in the medium term the intention is to "expand its offer to include several types of digital assets, as market trends and investor appetite evolve."
Director of financial products at XP, Lucas Rabechini says that, although the range of digital assets is very high, it is necessary to have diligence to choose and make safe assets available to customers. Asked about fees, Rebechini said the company is still in final studies about the values that will be charged from clients. "But I can guarantee that we will have super competitive rates."
XTAGE should be 100% operational by the end of June, and the client's "wallet" (their cryptoactive portfolio) will be integrated and custodied by XP (in the future, the client will be able to transfer it if they are interested). Rabechini says that XP hired BitGo to store the assets and that most of them will be kept in "cold wallets" to increase the platform's security.
Asked about the recent drop in cryptocurrency prices (and whether that could affect customer interest in the product), XP CFO Bruno Constantino said that "where the market is [in terms of pricing] is irrelevant to the launch of the exchange."
"It is a very long-term project, and the potential is gigantic. The timing of the launch is linked to the development of a platform with security, scalability and speed for the client," says the CFO.
"We don't look at the variation of the last three months. We think about the next five, ten years - and the size that this market may have," adds the director of financial products, Lucas Rabechini. "We think in the long term, otherwise we wouldn't have made this partnership with Nasdaq.
"At XP, we have a great mission to democratize access to digital assets, providing investors with a broad and diversified portfolio of financial products that are at the forefront of global innovation," says Rabechini. "Through the technology partnership with Nasdaq, we are confident that XP will operate on an innovative and robust infrastructure."
Roland Chai, executive vice president and head of marketplace technology infrastructure at Nasdaq, said in the statement that the partnership with XP will be important for expanding cryptos access and opening up new opportunities for investors.
"Nasdaq's robust and flexible infrastructure technology, designed to meet market demands as well as current and future regulatory frameworks, will allow XP to scale its platform reliably and introduce new asset classes as they grow and evolve," Chai said.
XP Inc. announced this Thursday (12) the launch of XTAGE, its own platform for trading cryptocurrencies, in partnership with Nasdaq. It will be integrated with XP's application, should be 100% operational by the end of June, and will initially bring the possibility to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
The company says the trading platform will be fully integrated with XP's ecosystem, allowing clients to invest in digital assets without friction with the services they are already accustomed to. In addition, the crypto portfolio will be integrated with the user's other investments.
Bruno Constantino, CFO of XP, says that "at launch, our 3.5 million clients will have access to the trading platform directly in the app they are already familiar with" and that "access to trading will later be extended to new investors as the platform grows."
Internal company research has shown that more than 60% of customers are interested in buying crypto assets, and among those already investing, more than 80% would like to trade with XP.
Initially, the platform will offer the trading of the two largest cryptocurrencies in the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum, but the company says in a statement that in the medium term the intention is to "expand its offer to include several types of digital assets, as market trends and investor appetite evolve."
Director of financial products at XP, Lucas Rabechini says that, although the range of digital assets is very high, it is necessary to have diligence to choose and make safe assets available to customers. Asked about fees, Rebechini said the company is still in final studies about the values that will be charged from clients. "But I can guarantee that we will have super competitive rates."
XTAGE should be 100% operational by the end of June, and the client's "wallet" (their cryptoactive portfolio) will be integrated and custodied by XP (in the future, the client will be able to transfer it if they are interested). Rabechini says that XP hired BitGo to store the assets and that most of them will be kept in "cold wallets" to increase the platform's security.
Asked about the recent drop in cryptocurrency prices (and whether that could affect customer interest in the product), XP CFO Bruno Constantino said that "where the market is [in terms of pricing] is irrelevant to the launch of the exchange."
"It is a very long-term project, and the potential is gigantic. The timing of the launch is linked to the development of a platform with security, scalability and speed for the client," says the CFO.
"We don't look at the variation of the last three months. We think about the next five, ten years - and the size that this market may have," adds the director of financial products, Lucas Rabechini. "We think in the long term, otherwise we wouldn't have made this partnership with Nasdaq.
"At XP, we have a great mission to democratize access to digital assets, providing investors with a broad and diversified portfolio of financial products that are at the forefront of global innovation," says Rabechini. "Through the technology partnership with Nasdaq, we are confident that XP will operate on an innovative and robust infrastructure."
Roland Chai, executive vice president and head of marketplace technology infrastructure at Nasdaq, said in the statement that the partnership with XP will be important for expanding cryptos access and opening up new opportunities for investors.
"Nasdaq's robust and flexible infrastructure technology, designed to meet market demands as well as current and future regulatory frameworks, will allow XP to scale its platform reliably and introduce new asset classes as they grow and evolve," Chai said.