Nasdaq CEO: We’ll ‘Certainly Consider’ Becoming a Cryptocurrency Exchange

Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange with a $9 trillion market cap, is open to becoming a cryptocurrency exchange in a regulated market.

In a televised interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman was asked of the position taken by Nasdaq’s board and herself on cryptocurrencies, specifically as a service provider.

“A lot of people are frustrated that even if they go into [the cryptocurrency] market, they have no liquidity [at an] exchange,” host and ‘Shark Tank’ shark Kevin O’Leary said, quipping: “Nasdaq would be a natural place for that, would it not?”

‘It’s an unregulated space today, so it’s not something that we’ve decided to go into becoming a [crypto] exchange but we are providing our technology now to other crypto exchanges,” she replied, pointing to Nasdaq’s surveillance technology that will be put to use by Gemini to monitor its cryptocurrency trading pairs in bitcoin and Ethereum.

Notably, she added:

Over time though, if we do look at it and say people are ready for a more regulated market for something that provides a fair experience for investors, certainly Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange, over time.

Asked if she was a believer in cryptocurrencies, she bullishly stated:

I would definitely say that – I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist. It’s just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature. Once you look at it and say, ‘ do we want to provide a regulated market for this?’, certainly, Nasdaq would consider it.’

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