The Toronto Stock Exchange’s pioneering TMX division is partnering with Paycase Financial to launch a special brokerage service that will provide data and investment advice for investors about cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether.
TMX Group’s new, wholly-owned subsidiary, Shorcan Digital Currency Network has entered into an agreement with Paycase Financial to provide information and build data benchmarks to show the ongoing status and price of different cryptocurrencies.
Paycase will be helping to build out the technology needed to create these ongoing data benchmarks and indices, which will be based on consolidated data from global cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as from international, over-the-counter trading volume.
The long-term goal is to market these indices with associated technology around the world.
John Lee, managing director, Enterprise Innovation & Product Development of TMX Group, said in a news release:
"Shorcan DCN represents a significant step forward in the execution of TMX Group's digital strategy. As new technologies continue to reshape the global financial industry, we continue to explore new ways to evolve our business to address client needs in both traditional and non-traditional markets.”
Paycase, a Toronto-based cryptocurrencies startup, is best known for its mobile-first remittance platform and service.
Joseph Weinberg, Paycase Financial CEO and OECD think tank special advisor, told Bitcoin Magazine:
“We are thrilled about this partnership between Paycase Financial and the TMX. As the first ever public crypto brokerage desk by an exchange, this deal represents the true institutionalization of cryptocurrencies as an asset class.”
The TMX Group has embraced new innovation in the past and has gone ahead of other exchanges, listing new startups in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors as well as new medical marijuana companies.
“With this partnership, we have built the first major bridge between the crypto world and the traditional financial markets. This is just a taste of more things to come from the collaborative and tight-knit Canadian community as we build out more products for the world,” added Weinberg.
Kyle Kemper, executive director of the Blockchain Association of Canada, told Bitcoin Magazine:
“This partnership signifies a collaborative convergence of regulators, financial incumbents and innovators that could open the floodgates for digital currency adoption across new markets.”
He says that this announcement is “just the tip of the iceberg” for the Canadian blockchain industry, where he expects to see more innovators partnering and collaborating with sector leaders “to realize the benefits of this new paradigm shift.”