Fidelity, Nasdaq Ventures invest in cryptocurrency exchange ErisX

[December 04, 2018]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New cryptocurrency exchange ErisX said Tuesday it raised a total of $27.5 million from investors including Fidelity Investments and Nasdaq Ventures.

Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

ErisX says it will offer investors the ability to trade the cryptocurrencies bitcoin, litecoin and ether on spot and futures markets starting next year, subject to regulatory approval.

Cryptocurrencies are virtual tokens that can be used as forms of payments on a variety of online applications. They can also be traded on dedicated online exchanges.

Nasdaq confirmed it participated in the funding round but declined to give a dollar amount. Fidelity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The investments will be used to hire staff and "build out our infrastructure and secure the appropriate steps are taken to develop a regulated market for digital assets," ErisX Chief Executive Officer Thomas Chippas said in a statement.

The Chicago-based company closed on a first round of investment in October, which included funding from retail brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp<AMTD.O>, private equity firm Valor Equity Partners and Cboe Global Markets Inc<CBOE.Z>.

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