In late July, Nasdaq was reported to have hosted a secret closed door meeting with representatives from approximately half a dozen cryptocurrency companies, including the founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, the Winklevoss twins. While the details of the meeting were not released to the press, one unnamed source told Bloomberg that the meeting was meant to “encourage the industry to do things that will improve its image and validate its potential role in global markets.” Today, news has broken that the Winklevoss twins are moving very close to forming a joint venture that will allow Nasdaq, in partnership with Gemini, to list top market cap coins for global trading, The Ico Journal reports.

Last month, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss made headlines for failing a second time to gain SEC approval for their proposed ‘Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF’ listing. However, the tides seem to have suddenly turned in the Winklevoss twins’ favor.

According to an unnamed source from Gemini, speaking with The ICO Journal,

 “Tyler and Cameron have moved the ball down the field in a meaningful way. Nasdaq, and its leadership, already are predisposed to finding an architecture solution and being the first to list actual tokens. Not just ETF’s or futures or some ‘derivative’ of the crypto aparatus…but rather list actual coins. They are getting very comfortable with the structures they’ve seen from Gemini, and the other research they’ve done with exchanges of note. There is a timeline forming for this decision and it could be earlier than some might think.”

A second source from Gemini suggested to The ICO Journal that Nasdaq cryptocurrency listings could come as soon as Q2 2019. This source claims that recent announcements of Gemini’s plans to double the size of its current staff listing are specifically intended to help solidify the cryptocurrency exchange’s legal legitimacy for Wall Street trading:

“Nasdaq and Gemini have gotten very, very comfortable with each other. Did you guys catch the little note in one of the latest articles where it said that Gemini was essentially doubling their staff by the end of this year? There is a reason for that and it is their work with Nasdaq. If you made me take a bet on it, I’d put money on their being a joint venture of some sort that sees several tokens listed and available to the public to trade on the Nasdaq by Q2 of 2019. If the people involved in the planning are telling me the truth, that is the bet I’d make…and these aren’t just tea leaves pieced together here – I asked three and four times and kept hearing what I am telling you. Remember, there is serious competition between these global exchanges to get there with cryptos. Nasdaq wants to plant a flag in the ground no different than Intercontinental (ICE), CBOE, CME, all of them.”

Following this news, The ICO Journal is reported to have gotten in touch with a number of anonymous sources linked to last month’s secret meeting and found that none of these sources denied the claims mentioned above. It indeed appears that as of writing, Nasdaq and Gemini are quickly moving to bring groundbreaking changes to the world of cryptocurrency and public finance.

Tyler Winklevoss told Bloomberg on August 13th that he remained optimistic for cryptocurrency one day breaking into Wall Street stating, “Wall Street is taking cryptocurrencies seriously, however, the vast majority of Wall Street firms are still not participating in the cryptocurrency market, which remains primarily a retail driven market… This will change over time, but it will take time.”

Perhaps the Winklevoss Twins were well aware when they made this statement that despite volatile markets and a series of frustrating denials by the SEC, the brothers still had one ace up their sleeve. If Gemini is the first exchange to reach US mainstream markets, the Winklevoss Twins stand to generate an ungodly amount of revenue and solidify their place in history.

Updates to come as this story continues to break.

Suggested Reading: Learn about some of our favorite cryptocurrency exchanges here. 

The post Nasdaq Tightens Bond With Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange, Cryptocurrency Listings Becoming Increasingly Likely appeared first on UNHASHED.

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