Nomura has begun offering bitcoin over-the-counter derivatives to clients as the largest cryptocurrency bounced back in Asia trading on Friday.
The Japanese investment bank’s trades, executed on the CME by crypto asset trading firm Cumberland DRW this week, were its first in digital asset trades, Nomura’s head of markets in Asia ex-Japan Rig Karkhanis said in a statement.
“Working with institutional-grade counterparties will allow us to scale into the increasing demand from our clients,” he said.
Many global investment banks have been looking to offer clients more crypto related services, responding they say to demand from institutional investors and private clients for access to what had been a fast growing sector.
However, crypto markets have tumbled this week as a meltdown in TerraUSD, one of the world’s largest stablecoins, sent digital tokens, already swept up in a sell-off of riskier assets, into meltdown.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by total market value, traded at $30,300 at 0623 GMT, up 5%. It has staged something of a recovery from a 16-month low of around $25,400 reached on Thursday.
But it remains far below week-ago levels of around $40,000 and, unless there is a rebound in weekend trade, is headed for a record seventh consecutive weekly loss.
“I don’t think the worst is over,” said Scottie Siu, investment director of Axion Global Asset Management, a Hong Kong based firm that runs a crypto index fund.
“I think there is more downside in the coming days. I think what we need to see is the open interest collapse a lot more, so the speculators are really out of it, and that’s when I think the market will stabilise.”
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell
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