XP Inc., Brazil’s largest investment broker by market value, will begin offering Bitcoin trading next month. In a report released by Reuters, the company said it will list Bitcoin on its trading platform, Xtage, by mid-August.

According to Lucas Rabechini, the company’s director of financial products, there are also plans to expand the platform’s product offering to include other digital assets and cryptocurrencies. In an interview with Reuters, Rabechini stated there will be an additional ten crypto assets available for trading “by the end of December and the beginning of next year.”

Customers with an “adequate investment profile for such operations” will be able to access trading services on the broker’s new crypto trading platform, Xtage. The platform was developed in partnership with Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) and has only been available exclusively to employees since it was announced in May.

Institutional crypto firm, BitGo, will be XP’s custody partner for Xtage. BitGo will store the platform’s digital assets in cold wallets and offer self-managed cold custody solutions. It will also provide insurance on assets held on the platform. However, Xtage will not support deposits or withdrawals in the initial stage.

A Focus on Technology

XP’s move comes at a time when the cryptocurrency market is in turmoil. Prices have taken a dip in recent months, with popular digital assets like Bitcoin losing over half their value. On the other hand, giant institutions like Terra, Celsius, and Voyager have collapsed, sending shockwaves in the market.

However, according to Rabechini, the current state of the market will not be a big problem. XP believes the market will grow over time. And even then, they are not focused on price alone.  

You can say 'the volume has been weak, there will be few orders,' but we see this market systematically growing over time, and our long term view is not just focused on price, but also technology.

In this regard, Xtage features a “super fast” order execution technology built on Nasdaq’s trading technology. It will also integrate with XP’s current applications.  

Entering a Competitive Market

XP is not the first Brazilian company to make this move. It should expect stiff competition from other financial institutions and companies like PicPay, Nubank, BTG Pactual, Mercado Livre, 99, and Itaú Unibanco, who have all revealed plans to provide Bitcoin and crypto-related services to their customers.

"There are competitors doing their homework,” Rabechini said, “some pretty competent ones, but we are competent as well."

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