Wall Street trading firm Jane Street Capital will begin trading in cryptocurrencies, beginning with Bitcoin.
Known for being secretive about its proprietary practices and profit margins, the firm reportedly trades more than $13 billion daily.
Jane Street Capital is believed to primarily deal in trading related to stocks, technology and arbitrage trades. Exactly how the firm is trading in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin was not made public.
Experts speculate that the firm may be trading cryptocurrencies against fiat-settled futures.
Crypto futures settled in fiat are currently offered by the Chicago Board Options of Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Though not confirmed, Jane Street may also be trading Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cash-settled Ethereum futures.
“Our company trades more than 56,000 products globally. These products come from a wide range of asset classes which now include bitcoin,” the company said in a statement.
“Jane Street has often been taking a considered approach as regards trading opportunities, and we will continue doing so, and as more crypto products emerge, we are expecting to be more involved.”
Embracing volatility
The 17-year-old company, known in the industry and yet not a household name, trades in financial products such as bonds, commodities, ETFs, equities and options.
Jane Street only recently embraced trading in cryptocurrencies but it joins a growing list of trading firms in the business, such as DV Trading, Jump Trading and Virtu Financial.
Such companies may have become attracted to trading in cryptocurrencies because serious money can be made — or lost, of course — with strategically informed crypto investments.
Jane Street Capital reportedly employs more than 600 and was described in a 2016 New York Times article as a “secretive” ETF trading firm. Its stock traders were described as “coders with a Ph.D.”
Traders at Jane Street are reportedly extremely tech savvy. They are known to use programming scripts to aid them in quickly executing stock trades in volatile market conditions.
Jane Street said via press release that it will eventually begin trading in other cryptocurrencies beyond its public embrace of Bitcoin.
“Jane Street has always taken a considered approach to trading opportunities and will continue to do so. As more cryptocurrency products emerge, we expect to be involved,” said the release.
