The Daily: Coinbase Increases Trading Limits, ABCC Opens in Malta, Omniex Hires Former Regulators
On Wednesday, The Daily features a couple of announcements from Coinbase: the US crypto exchange enables instant purchasing with increased daily trading limits and is now accepting ETC deposits on its Coinbase Pro platform. We’ve also covered the opening of ABCC’s European headquarters in Malta and Omniex’s decision to appoint two former regulators as advisors.
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Coinbase Enables Instant Purchasing, Increases Trading Limits
Users of Coinbase will be able to buy digital coins right after they deposit funds from their bank account, the platform explained in a blog post published on Tuesday. “Starting today, we are rolling out the ability to trade cryptocurrency immediately after a purchase — no more waiting five days for funds to settle,” the announcement reads.
While the platform supports instant transfers via wire transfer and debit cards, purchases via direct debits from a bank account used to take days. The change means that from now on the USD balances will be credited immediately for the amount customers have sent from their accounts. They’ll be able to buy cryptos but won’t have the option to withdraw before the funds from their bank are settled.
The company also announced an increase of the daily trading limits for US users. The functionality will be available over the next few weeks. For verified customers, the maximum allowable purchase will jump from $25,000 weekly to $25,000 per day. The exchange also noted that once the funds are transferred to Coinbase, there are no longer any limits to how much users can buy or sell at a time.
Initially, the instant purchasing, new trading limits, and the ability to withdraw coins will be available only to US customers who have completed the identity verification process with Coinbase. However, the platform promises to bring the updates to other markets as well.
Coinbase Pro Introduces Ethereum Classic (ETC)
In another announcement, the influential US exchange informed its clients of the successful completion of its final testing for the addition of ethereum classic (ETC), noting that the launch will proceed in four stages: transfer-only, post-only, limit-only, and full-trading mode. “Coinbase Pro is now accepting transfers of Ethereum Classic!” the company tweeted, notifying customers they can transfer ETC immediately to their exchange account and start trading within days.
“We are beginning the launch of ETC on our exchange at Coinbase Pro. We plan to add support for ETC at Coinbase.com when sufficient liquidity is established. We expect this to occur approximately 1–2 weeks after trading begins on Coinbase Pro,” David Farmer, Coinbase Pro’s General Manager, explained in the company’s blog. The exchange also reminded users that its GDAX platform was split into Coinbase Pro, for individual traders, and Coinbase Prime, for institutions.
Several positive developments, including the addition to Coinbase Pro and the Robinhood app, have pushed the price of ETC up. The cryptocurrency is currently the 13th largest by market capitalization, which is almost $1.68 billion USD at the time of writing.
ABCC Exchange Opens European Headquarters in Malta
Singapore-based digital asset exchange ABCC (Alphabit Cryptocurrency) has announced the opening of its European headquarters in Malta. In an official release, the trading platform described the move as a strategic decision, part of the commitment to increase its presence in Europe and elsewhere. The company hopes to create new investment and employment opportunities in the island nation which has taken steps to become a leading crypto-friendly destination. ABCC has also decided to sponsor an official blockchain event organized by the Maltese government, Delta Summit 2018.
“This comes just a few weeks after the Maltese Parliament enacted into law the highly anticipated three bills which will pave the way for the creation of a new economic sector. I thank ABCC for putting their trust in Malta and for providing their input to implement our vision and make Malta The Blockchain Island,” said Silvio Schembri, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation within the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta. “Indeed, we look forward to working closely with the Government of Malta and to support its transition into a digital innovation center of excellence,” added ABCC CEO Calvin Cheng.
ABCC’s announcement follows similar decisions by some of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance, currently the largest trading platform by volume, is exploring opportunities to launch a decentralized bank in Malta. Another Chinese-run crypto exchange, Okex, announced in April it is setting foot on the island, and the Polish Bitbay revealed its plans to move to Malta in May.
Omniex Appoints Former Regulators as Advisors
Omniex, a crypto trading and investment platform oriented towards institutional investors, has appointed to its Board of Advisors Arthur Levitt, former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, and Sheila Bair, former Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). According to an official announcement, the company has also hired former Thomson Reuters and KCG executives as part of the plans to accelerate the adoption of its platform.
Omniex, which provides portfolio and risk management, trade execution, investment operations and compliance solutions for crypto-assets to buy-side, market-making and broker-dealer institutions, has raised $10 million USD since it was founded last fall. Among its investors are leading firms such as Wicklow Capital, Jump Capital, Digital Currency Group, Sierra Ventures, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Thirdstream Partners and Alan Howard of Brevan Howard.
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News about the development of cryptocurrencies and operations conducted with them is always very different. The press has little discussion of these issues. It’s good that you can find relevant information on the site.