TD Ameritrade CEO: We’re Taking ‘Crawl, Walk, Run’ Approach to Crypto

TD Ameritrade’s outgoing CEO has issued new statements indicating that clients are asking for investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies and that his firm may be looking for ways to serve that need.

Tim Hockey, who tendered his resignation earlier this week, told The Street Tuesday he is taking a “crawl, walk, run approach” toward offering digital assets on the brokerage platform. The firm represents $1.3 trillion in assets for nearly 11 million clients.

Since 2018, TD has reportedly offered trading in bitcoin futures to investors through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It also reportedly lists investment opportunities in blockchain-focused firms, but not digital assets directly. However, consumer demand is pushing the firm to increase their cryptocurrency offerings.

“Clients are asking for it,” Hockey said.” Adding, “Our investment in ErisX at some point may allow us,” referring to the crypto-denominated trading platform the firm placed an early stake in.

As previously reported, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) licensed ErisX to offer derivatives and futures contracts. The firm already held a designated contract market (DCM) license.

Despite these greenlight, Hockey still has his reservations especially regarding the industry’s regulatory uncertainty.

He said:

“We would like to be able to participate, but we want to be comfortable with the risk to our clients and ourselves in a world where crypto has still got lots of debate about a number of items that we’re all hearing about.”

TD Ameritrade photo vis Shutterstock