Once the space is mature, Nasdaq is open to becoming a platform for cryptocurrency trading like bitcoin, according to the company’s CEO.
“Surely the Nasdaq would consider the idea of becoming a crypto exchange over time,” said Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, at Squawk Box on CNBC Wednesday. ”
A key passage for Nasdaq and other institutional investors is regulation, which Friedman said must be established before the company adds an exchange. But she is optimistic about the future of digital resources.
That being said, according to Friedman, the crypto space is still too immature for such a move. Cryptocurrency is in its “early implementations” and is still experiencing a “big hype cycle.”
“I think digital currencies will continue to persist is just a matter of how long it will take for the space to mature,” Friedman said.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is supporting the existing crypto exchanges.
On Wednesday, the company announced a partnership with Gemini, a cryptocurrencies exchange, founded by the first bitcoin investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The deal gives Gemini access to Nasdaq’s surveillance technology to ensure that the platform provides a fair “rules-based” market for its participants, Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss said in a statement.
While Friedman is optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies, it is less so in the fundraising process known as the initial coin offering, or ICO.
“ICOs to me really do need to be regulated. I do believe the SEC is right that those are securities offerings and they need to be regulated as such.”
