Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 to Launch Bitcoin and Ethereum Futures

The B3 Stock Exchange plans to enter the cryptocurrency market within six months, promising users access to a wide range of services.

brazilian playground announced, which after six months will launch its first cryptocurrency product – trading in futures for bitcoins (BTC) and ether (ETH). CFO André Milanez did not specify whether B3 would form a partnership or offer futures trading directly.

There are currently eleven crypto ETFs available for institutional and retail investors in Brazil to trade through the exchange. There are also more than 25 investment funds approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) in the country that offer their clients access to the crypto asset market.

The exchange announced its entry into the cryptocurrency market at the end of last year. The president of the company, Gilson Finkelsztain, spoke about this, saying that B3 will not become a purely crypto exchange, but plans to take a strong position in the market by tokenizing some assets and simplifying access to cryptocurrencies for its users.

According to B3 CIO Jochen Mielke de Lima, the platform intends, in addition to futures on BTC and ETH, to offer services to other national crypto exchanges and act as a center for depository and settlement operations. In Brazil, Milke says, there are 30 such sites that could benefit from services to simplify and standardize operations. According to the director, the crypto-currency market is very similar to the regulated stock market, since it also involves operations for the issuance, trading, settlement and storage of assets.

Earlier, the Brazilian Nubank announced the launch of cryptocurrency trading. The bank entered into a partnership with Paxos, which will act as a broker and provider of custody services.