Kraken Launches Ether Dark Pool Trading
Kraken has introduced Ether (ETH) Dark Pool trading in its platform, chalking a milestone as the first ever digital currency exchange to do so with the currency powering Ethereum.
In a nod to ether’s rapid rise, both in popularity and value, Kraken has become the first virtual currency exchange to offer clients Dark Pool trading with Ether. The feature enables high-volume traders to place large orders of exchange, with anonymity. Without exposing any intentions to the public, the large volume trades tend to have no effect on the exchange value of the currency.
In an email communicated to CCN.com, Kraken points to the meteoric rise in ether’s value, up nearly 10 times, since the beginning of 2016.
Having introduced dark pool trading for bitcoin in June 2015, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell sees the present to be the perfect time to enable the feature for trading the currency behind Ethereum.
“This year, trading volume for ether has dramatically increased on Kraken’s exchange, and we developed the Ether Dark Pool to bridge the gap between our lit order books and over-the-counter desk,” Powell stated.
He also revealed the minimum limit for a large trade order via Kraken’s Dark Pool.
Dark Pool trading allows for orders to be placed out of sight so that traders can make large buy or sell orders (minimum of 50 bitcoin or 2,500 ether) without revealing their sentiment to other traders. Advantages include reduced market impact and better price for larger blocks.
With the launch, clients will be able to trade ether in six currency pairs via the Dark Pool. The currencies with which ether can be exchanged or traded are: bitcoin (ETH/XBT.d), euro (ETH/EUR.d), United States dollar (ETH/USD.d), Canadian dollar (ETH/CAD.d), pound sterling (ETH/GBP.d), and Japanese yen (ETH/JPY.d).
Fees for trading via the Ether Dark Pool range from 0.20% to 0.36%, depending on trade volume. The fees are in line with other Kraken dark pools, including the bitcoin dark pool.
In addition to the announcement, Kraken has also deemed Ether a collateral currency for its Margin Trading program. A client’s Ether balance can now be used (much like a bitcoin, Euro or USD balance) as collateral for the borrowed funds associated to a leveraged margin trade in Kraken’s program.
Powell explained the difference between the two features offered by Kraken:
If traders are looking to move large sizes without affecting the market, they trade dark on Kraken. If traders want to keep fewer assets on account and they want less exposure to funding delays, they trade with margin on Kraken.
As things stand, however, margin trading is unavailable to US residents.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
