An industry association said on Tuesday that regulated financial exchanges are discussing ways to capitalize on the interest in cryptocurrency, although a third of those polled said they have no intentions to provide the asset class.
According to a survey published by the London-based World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), exchanges are concerned about a lack of clear regulatory standards, market volatility, and the potential for cybersecurity threats associated with crypto assets.
The WFE, whose members include the US-based Nasdaq, the German Deutsche Boerse, and the Swiss SIX Group, conducted a poll of 29 exchanges. Of those, 12 offered cryptocurrency-related products or services, while 17 did not, the WFE reported without naming the respondents.
The organization claimed that just seven companies planned to develop cryptocurrency-related offerings in the future, while the other ten did not.
In 2022, cryptocurrency values fell precipitously as a result of several major crypto businesses, notably FTX, going under, leaving investors with substantial losses. This prompted lawmakers to ramp up calls for regulation.
Approximately 38% of the exchanges the WFE examined have already formed working groups to concentrate on crypto-related products or services.
According to the WFE, just over a quarter of respondents believe that crypto assets will soon enter the mainstream.
All of their members are focused on cryptocurrencies, and they are always talking with them about how to take advantage of the new opportunities in the space, according to WFE CEO Nandini Sukumar.
The potential use of blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, in the issuance and trading of conventional financial assets has long caught the attention of mainstream financial institutions. However, a significant deployment of the technology has not yet occurred.
The London Stock Exchange Group announced on Monday that it was researching the use of blockchain technology to create a system “to raise and move funds across asset classes, but that this would not involve establishing anything around crypto assets.
