A German stock exchange that lists companies with over $2 trillion in combined market value is thinking about offering cryptocurrency-related products, joining the New York Stock Exchange in apparently mulling over an expansion into the trading of digital currencies like Bitcoin.
“We are deep at work with it,” Jeffrey Tessler, head of clients, products, and core markets at Deutsche Boerse, said at an event hosted by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe on Wednesday, Bloomberg reports.
The Deutsche Boerse is one of the 10 world’s largest stock exchanges based on the value of the companies listed on it. The NYSE and Nasdaq, the latter of which is apparently open to the idea of one day opening a cryptocurrency exchange, meanwhile are the first and second largest respectively.
Like other executives who have, or are considering offering crypto-related products for their companies, Tessler says Deutsche Boerse is trying to understand the space first, and see where it stands in the eyes of European regulators.
Those comments come after reports in December that the German exchange was considering offering Bitcoin futures contracts, but also weighing the potential problems with offering them. That includes higher volatility, and a lack of regulation.
The price of Bitcoin meanwhile, is far off its near-$20,000 high in December. That run up was partly fueled by news that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Options Exchange were planning to offer Bitcoin futures.
Now, the price of Bitcoin is around $7,500.