On Oct. 20, Oanda announced cryptocurrency trading services for its American market designed to give investors easy access to crypto alongside their existing forex portfolios.

It is the latest traditional finance company to enter the crypto space. However, the move comes in the depths of a bear market when demand is low.

The technology has been developed in partnership with the Paxos Trust Foundation, a regulated blockchain infrastructure firm.

Crypto trading now available through OANDA! 🙌

Find out more about the benefits of trading cryptocurrency with OANDA ➡️ https://t.co/Qlfvukz7lp#OANDA #SmarterTrading #Crypto pic.twitter.com/ReIdEUyS8S

— OANDA (@OANDA) October 20, 2022

Institutional Interest

U.S. customers will now be able to trade crypto through the Paxos itBit exchange directly through the Oanda mobile platform. Trading functions such as stop losses and limit orders are also available on the platform, according to the announcement.

Oanda CEO, Gavin Bambury, said that crypto assets should be available for traders and investors.

“As the number of Americans seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies grows, it’s becoming clear that digital assets should form part of a unified trading experience for active traders and sophisticated investors.”

Senior market analyst at the firm, Ed Moya, added that the evolution of institutional investment in crypto has “led to a stabilization period that has major players such as Schwab, Citadel, and Fidelity, forge ahead with new digital asset offerings in the cryptoverse.”

Oanda has noted that institutional adoption is increasing, which may entice retail traders back into the asset class again.

The company was started in 1996 and has since grown into a global leader in forex and currency exchange and data. Its main rival is Xe.com, another major forex firm that has yet to offer crypto trading services directly on its platform. Another competitor, FXCM, does offer crypto trading services and more forex firms are likely to expand their services as demand increases.

Crypto Market Update

Crypto markets are still stuck in a sideways channel that has lasted for more than four months. Total capitalization is unchanged over the past 24 hours, remaining at $954 billion.

Bitcoin was changing hands for $19,140 at the time of writing, having moved very little over the past day. The situation was similar with Ethereum, which has made half a percent as it inches back toward the $1,300 level.

There were no major movers in the top twenty as the consolidation and tedium continued. Analysts have cautioned about a big move ahead after such a long period of low volatility, and October is usually the month that markets crash.