1 in 5 Financial Institutions Exploring Crypto Trading, Survey Finds

The firm recently surveyed more than 400 clients on its data and trading platforms, including Eikon, REDI, FXall and Elektron.

About 20 percent of these clients were "Really interested and actively exploring" launching cryptocurrency trading operations in 2018, the firm's director of new content initiatives Sam Chadwick told CoinDesk.

Chadwick emphasized the shift in attitudes, telling CoinDesk that a year ago, "As we were engaging customers, none of them had any particular interest in cryptocurrencies." Clients were instead interested in "The blockchain side of things, smart contracts."

Interest has since notably shifted towards cryptocurrencies.

Some survey respondents said, "We'll trade anything," he continued.

A small number further expressed interest in trading ICO tokens, but "Privacy coins" such as zcash and monero had few takers.

A few said they were amenable to trading cryptocurrencies, but only through ETFs or similar instruments.

Chadwick would not name the clients that had expressed interest in cryptocurrency trading, but he said they included large asset managers, hedge funds and "Some of the trading desks at some of the largest banks."

Speculating as to why financial institutions are suddenly interested in cryptocurrency trading, Chadwick said there was "Obviously" some correlation with cryptocurrencies' prices.

"If these organizations have no competence to trade crypto assets at all, they'll be locked out of a broad segment."