US Stock Broker E*Trade to Launch Bitcoin and Ether Trading: Report

Online stock brokerage E*Trade Financial is said to be preparing to launch cryptocurrency trading services.

A Bloomberg report on Saturday, citing “a person familiar with the matter,” said that E*Trade will initially add trading support for bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), with more cryptocurrencies to be added in the future.

The U.S. brokerage is also reportedly finalizing a third party to hold the cryptocurrencies, Nathaniel Popper, tech reporter at The New York Times, tweeted Friday.

Founded in 1982, Nasdaq-listed E*Trade has close to 4 million customers. Last year, the firm also launched trading in bitcoin futures from CME Group for customers.

Traditional financial players are increasingly looking to offer cryptocurrency services. Just last week, another brokerage, TD Ameritrade, was said to be testing bitcoin and litecoin (LTC) trading on its platform. Last year, TD Ameritrade invested an undisclosed sum in cryptocurrency exchange ErisX.

Mobile stock trading app Robinhood, on the other hand, launched cryptocurrency trading services over a year ago, and recently announced a plan to launch an initial public offering (IPO).

E*Trade image via Shutterstock