A Brazilian-based investment giant (Group XP), which owns a financial service firm called XP Investimentos, is set to dip its toes into the crypto waters. The independent broker-dealer is reportedly going to launch an Ethereum and Bitcoin exchange in the next few months, according to popular news outlets.
Guilherme Benchimol, the CEO of Group XP, told Bloomberg that the company will unveil a cryptocurrency exchange called XDEX in the coming days. XDEX was initially registered as XP COIN Intermediacao in August last year. Towards the end of 2017, however, it rebranded to XDEX.
The group has apparently been researching the crypto market and has allegedly set a goal to raise 1 trillion Brazilian Real ($245 billion) by 2020, which is nearly four times what the firm intends to raise by the end of 2018. Moreover, the financial giant will launch its own bank in the next five months or so.
Benchimol was also quoted saying that the company is being pushed into the cryptocurrency space by the popularity of digital assets among investors spread across the world. According to him, approximately 3 million Brazilians have exposure to cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin, compared to only 600,000 that have holdings in stocks.
“I must confess, this is a theme I’d rather didn’t exist, but it does,” he said. “We felt obligated to start advancing in this market.”
However, the exchange will not be part of the company’s other brokerage businesses. It will be managed by Thiago Maffra and will have 40 employees.
Earlier this week Brazilian government launched a probe into several major financial institutions, regarding the alleged violation of power in the market and for practicing monopoly into the crypto market. Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) released a statement saying that six major national banks imposed restrictions or closed the accounts of brokerage trading in cryptocurrencies.
In the past, Brazil’s central bank chief Ilan Goldfajn took a harsh position towards cryptocurrencies, comparing them to a Ponzi scheme.