World second-largest stock exchange firm in terms of market capitalization Nasdaq may be a game changer when it finally enters the cryptocurrency trading platform.
Nasdaq Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman hinted that the stock market could become a platform for trading cryptocurrencies in the future, but that will be when the crypto market becomes more regulated, CNBC’s Squawk Box reports.
Going by its $9 trillion US Dollars market cap, the stock firm has the financial capability to shake the crypto market.
Friedman expressed optimism that cryptocurrencies “will continue to persist,” no one can precisely say when the crypto sphere will mature.
“Once that kind of institutional regulations set in, It’s time, people are ready for a more regulated market, for something that provides a fair experience for investors,” she said.
Already, Nasdaq has entered into crypto partnership with Gemini crypto exchange owned by tech investors, Winklevoss twins.
In the partnership, Gemini will be able to use the Nasdaq’s SMARTS Market Surveillance Technology to alert the exchange to suspicious trade behavior, aimed at preventing market manipulation.
Friedman also told NBC that she considers Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) to be securities, a point much debated in the crypto world:
“ICOs need to be regulated. The SEC is right that those are securities and need to be regulated as such.”
ICOs have been used as a way defraud investors, particularly on social media, which led the banning of crypto-related ads on the World largest social media, Facebook, early this year.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a cryptocurrency probe earlier this year.
The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had also held a cryptocurrency hearing that concluded that while ICOs needed stricter regulations, cryptocurrencies needed smart policies to promote innovation.
How soon is Nasdaq coming? No one can say for now.