Digital Currency Trading Could Soon be Offered by E*Trade

 Good news for prospective  cryptocurrency traders who feel more comfortable with major retail  brokerage firms. The E*Trade Financial Group, one of the largest online  trading platforms for individuals, is reportedly preparing to offer  cryptocurrency pairs for new and existing account holders. 

Integration of Cryptocurrencies into E*Trade

According to a report recently  published by Bloomberg, E*Trade customers could start trading Bitcoin  and Ethereum later this year, and their digital currency holdings would  be part of their traditional portfolio accounts. When considering the  sheer size of E*Trade, this development is a good sign for the  cryptocurrency markets; after all, this is a company that boasts nearly 5  million trading accounts, and it is also one of the most respected  names in online trading.  Aside from bringing additional  liquidity and higher trading volume to the digital currency markets, the  advantage of E*Trade getting into crypto trading is that it brings more  legitimacy into this world. Many E*Trade customers are casual investors  who are more likely to treat Bitcoin and other tokens as long-term  investments; however, existing account holders who may have ventured  into exchanges could be interested in consolidating their financial  activity into a single portfolio. 

The Future of Digital Assets

Trading account consolidation is a  good strategy for online retail brokerages to consider when evaluating  whether they should embrace digital currencies. For a financial services  provider such as Robinhood, for example, this has been a very smart  move. Robinhood is a major E*Trade competitor that listened to its  account holders when it decided to offer cryptocurrency trading; the  company has explained that this has been a major contributor to growth,  particularly because it attracts new customers who wish to learn about  Bitcoin and the world of digital currencies in general. Now that popular online retail  brokerages are offering cryptocurrency trading, established exchanges  should pay attention. One of the major reasons these financial services  providers have been able to attract millions of customers is that they  provide very friendly platforms to beginners, casual traders and  traditional investors. Those who are familiar with E*Trade are probably  waiting for the day when they can learn about crypto tokens from a  platform they can trust. Major digital currency exchange platforms that  focus too much on active traders will lose out to E*Trade in terms of  attracting newcomers. 

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