Chicago-based ErisX, a crypto exchange for institutional investors, has joined the payments network of bitcoin-friendly Silvergate Bank.
- The connection to the Silvergate Exchange Network will give ErisX clients access to U.S. dollar withdrawals and deposits during business hours. The Silvergate Exchange Network is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- “If you think about the traditional means of moving fiat today, most institutional market participants would utilize the Fedwire system,” ErisX CEO Thomas Chippas said in an interview. “You’re talking about the availability of getting your money around 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m. in the afternoon depending on the bank.”
- ErisX is one of the few exchanges to have publicly announced its integration with the SEN. In November, Kraken announced it had joined the SEN to enable real-time fund transfer.
- Chippas noted the fee structure is no more expensive on SEN than what it would be for a typical Fedwire transfer.
- While ErisX is evaluating the SEN Leverage product, which allows proprietary traders to put up bitcoin as collateral for fiat loans, the exchange hasn’t yet decided to offer the service to its clients, Chippas said.
- In the first quarter of 2020, the SEN handled 31,405 transactions, according to the publicly-traded Silvergate’s most recent earnings report.
Read more: Silvergate Adds 46 More Crypto Clients in Q1 While Existing Customers Increase Deposit Levels