As of January 2018, there are over 120 standalone cryptocurrency exchanges, facilitating trading in more than 1000 individual markets. Daily trading volume for cryptocurrencies is now equivalent to 20 billion USD, with a total market cap of over $700 billion. The majority of the trading is concentrated among the top 20 exchanges, denominated in multiple currencies ranging from crypto ones including Bitcoin and Ethereum to sovereign ones such as USD, GBP, JPY, CNY, and KRW, among others. Predictions point to growth toward a $1-2 trillion market capitalization in 2018, and a corresponding 3% average daily trading volume of $50 billion or more. Asset managers are beginning to see increased demand for cryptocurrency exposure in their portfolios, over 500 active funds are being created to enter the market in 2018, and the regulatory climate is warming.2 However, the market is nascent, and large spreads are common between exchanges on the same crypto pairs, allowing for ample arbitrage opportunities that don’t exist in more efficient markets. The inefficiency is a product of cryptocurrency trading markets being highly fractured in terms of execution, account setup, automated access, liquidity, execution speed, pricing, and security. XTRADE was created by finance and trading professionals to solve those problems by both improving on and consolidating current trading practices.
