Coinbase Granted Green Light For Three Acquisitions, Investment Licenses

As titans of U.S. cryptocurrency industry are in a race to establish the first regulated exchange for tokens deemed to be securities, Coinbase on Tuesday said the nation’s regulators would approve its plans to buy a trio of firms including a broker-dealer registered with the Wall Street’s independent watchdog, the FINRA.

If confirmed, Coinbase will use licenses it obtains to offer customers Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term-based securities. It will also be subject to more federal oversight.

The San Francisco-based $1.6 billion digital currency exchange has acquired Keystone Capital Corp in a bid to operate as a regulated broker-dealer. It has also acquired Venovate Marketplace Inc. and Digital Wealth LLC. The newly-acquired businesses will offer Coinbase a broker-dealer license (B-D), an alternative trading system license (ATS), and a registered investment advisor (RIA) license.

The ATS entity will provide secondary market ‎Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term for ICO tokens that are offered and sold as securities. An alternative trading system is a trading venue that is not regulated as ‎an exchange but operates for matching the buy and sell orders of its ‎subscribers.

The move comes just as the US Securities and Exchange ‎Commission is seeking legitimate platforms serving as trading venues ‎for digital assets. This topic has received much attention since the SEC ‎made clear that any digital token with an income stream is ‎a security, and furthermore that ‎any entity wants to ‎become an ATS needs to register with the SEC as a ‎broker-dealer and become a member of a self-regulating ‎organization, such as the ‎FINRA.‎

Circle, a blockchain startup backed by Goldman Sachs, has also announced plans to pursue registration as a brokerage and trading venue with the SEC. Circle also intends to seek a federal banking license to provide more services to customers.