|
After extensive research and development over the span of a
year, Blockchain said its "Mercury" matching engine delivers
speeds a quantum faster than any other crypto exchange.
A stealth team inside the company composed of veterans from the
New York Stock Exchange, TD Ameritrade, Google, Goldman Sachs,
UBS, Interactive Brokers and Revolut built The PIT with the goal
of executing trades at high speeds, Blockchain said in a
statement.
"What happens at these exchanges when there's a volatility
spike, the matching engines get overwhelmed and they just shut
down and people can't even trade," Nicole Sherrod, head of
trading products at Blockhain told Reuters in a phone interview.
"Our clients can do trades in microseconds in a category where
other exchanges are doing them in milliseconds," she added.
Crytocurrencies are back in the spotlight in the midst of a
steep price rally and high volatility this year, led by bitcoin,
which has soared nearly 160% so far in 2019. After hitting an
18-month high just shy of $14,000 in late June, bitcoin has
dropped nearly 30% and last traded at $9,528.
On Tuesday, Sherrod said customers will be able to open accounts
at The PIT, with the exchange initially launching the trading of
the bitcoin/U.S. dollar pair on Aug. 6.
The exchange is available to users in more than 200 countries,
and will begin with 26 trading pairs and a global banking
network to facilitate deposits, withdrawals, and fiat-to-crypto
trading in U.S. dollar, euro, and sterling. Initial assets
include bitcoin, ether, litecoin, tether, and PAX tokens.
Tom Haller, previously the chief software architect for trading
systems at the New York Stock Exchange, led the development of
the exchange's matching engine, Blockchain said.
"The current crypto exchange market is outdated, broken, and
skewed against users. We got tired of waiting for a new entrant
to deliver the performance today's traders demand," said Peter
Smith, Blockchain co-founder and chief executive officer, in a
statement.
Launched in 2011 as a cryptocurrency wallet and headquartered in
London, Blockchain has raised $70 million from investors
including Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Virgin,
Lakestar, and the Digital Currency Group.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; editing by Diane Craft)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
