Bithumb International has launched an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk for digital assets.
Announcing the news on Thursday, the firm said that the new Hong Kong-based risk – Ortus – is a “block deal, matchmaking service” for institutional clients. In an OTC deal, two parties trade directly with each other, distant from on an exchange where orders are matched between buyers and sellers.
“Ortus will operate to allow institutions to buy and peddle digital assets through a network of global liquidity providers and benefit from a competitive and best price achievement service,” said Rahul Khanna, Bithumb’s director.
According to its website, Ortus has offices in the U.K., Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and Argentina.
To get started, customers will have to go through “strict” onboarding processes, including know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) documentation, the firm said.
Ortus furnishes features such as insured custody and transfers from a U.S.-based bank account. The firm did not set out which digital assets it want offer for OTC trades.
Several crypto exchanges have launched OTC trading desks in recent months to capitalize on bear interest from institutions.
Just last month, U.S.-based Bittrex launched an OTC desk supporting nearly 200 cryptocurrencies. In December 2018, Poloniex contributed OTC trading service for institutional clients with a minimum order size of $250,000.
And a month prior, crypto exchange unicorn Coinbase also opened an OTC checking for its Prime customers – that is, financial institutions looking to trade with business funds.
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