Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) to Launch Crypto Asset Trading by Year End

The Jamaica Stock Exchange announced today that it will be offering crypto-asset trading by the end of the year.

According to a report by Coindesk, the company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Blockstation, a Toronto-based company that bills itself as “The Institution’s Choice for Trading Digital Assets,” to build a digital assets trading platform by the end of 2018.

Street Forrest, managing director of the stock exchange, explained where the company sees the deal taking them:

So the end game at the end of the day is to trade tokens, the end game is smart contracts, the end game is to provide that area of the market that would like this product, to start to do so in a secure manner.

Adding that they may look into other ways to incorporate blockchain tech, including a possible token listing of their own, she explained how the company sees the capability evolving:

The environment changes, the entire ecosystem changes, so at that point in time that might be the case, [although]at this point in time [their own crptocurrency]…is not a discussion. We have a steering committee that was designed and formulated to look at the Blockstation product, to look at the blockchain technology in general and to go through the phases to ensure that we understand what we are getting involved with and are also trained in what this entire trading of cryptocurrency involves.

Stock Exchanges Getting In on the Act

This latest news will come as somewhat of an encouragement at a time when the bearish market seems to be continuing unabated.

Recent news from other stock exchanges, however, also bodes well for the industry in the longer term.

On August 3rd, ICE (the Intercontinental Exchange) announced that it was launching a new company to be called Bakkt, with the goal of “building an open, seamless global network to enable you to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets simply, safely and efficiently” – with bitcoin futures trading set to be one of the first offerings.