Users of Bloomberg terminals can now track bitcoin pricing data from itBit, including USD, EUR and SGD trading pairs.
Although still relatively young, the Singaporean exchange has expanded rapidly. At the end of last year, itBit received $3.2m in venture capital, bringing its current funding total to $5.5m.
The Bloomberg Professional service has more than 320,000 subscribers and the decision will undoubtedly give the Asian exchange greater exposure worldwide.
Targeting professionals
ItBit describes itself as a bitcoin exchange for professionals, with reliable deposits and withdrawals, robust KYC and AML policies and good customer service. The Bloomberg deal will likely give it another credibility boost, too.
The exchange has been on a roll for weeks. It started offering generous incentives for bitcoin traders eager to switch exchanges in February and by June it had slashed prices and added a few new features, including an improved API.
The company has also attracted talent from the payments industry. In May its ranks were bolstered by a former senior manager at PayPal and an analyst from SecondMarket.
Bloomberg’s position hasn’t evolved much
Although Bloomberg started providing bitcoin prices through its professional service earlier this year, the financial services giant remains tight-lipped about the currency.
The move was viewed as a key stamp of approval for bitcoin, but Bloomberg took a very conservative, even cautious approach.
At the time Bloomberg emphasised that it was not endorsing or guaranteeing bitcoin, pointing out that the currency could be the biggest tech innovation since the internet, or just another crash-and-burn fad.
The company also added the Winklevoss’ bitcoin price ticker to its service earlier this month, under ‘WINKBTCO’.