Canadian stock market operator TMX Group recently revealed its plans of launching a crypto futures product in 2022. This revelation came in the wake of concerns of institutional investors surrounding trading risks in an asset class that’s new and still relatively unknown. John McKenzie, one of the most well-known names in the TMX Group, recently said that more institutional dealers and investors are holding a greater number of crypto assets. The assets, according to McKenzie, are either held within the investors’ portfolios, in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or for clients.
In recent months, crypto assets have suffered setbacks as most investors turned to safer investments. There was also the expectation of hikes in interest rates by central banks. However, some recovery has been reported in the last few weeks as Bitcoin surged past $42k once again. Ether, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, also recovered to some extent.
This latest development comes in the wake of increasing investor interest in cryptocurrencies. For instance, MicroStrategy, a well-known business intelligence software company, has turned its entire cash reserves into Bitcoin. The company is financing further purchases by raising debt as well. KPMG, a major Canadian accounting firm, has also converted some fiat assets into Ethereum and Bitcoin.
At the end of 2021, Tesla, the electric automaker, held almost $2 billion in BTC. According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, 40 publicly-listed businesses are holding BTC right now. All in all, exciting times are up ahead for cryptocurrencies, even though the crypto market has experienced a topsy-turvy time in recent months due to crackdowns and regulations.
