Crypto Never Sleeps. Now DRW's Big Trading Desk Doesn't Either

(Bloomberg) -- Much like the market where it trades, the cryptocurrency desk at DRW Holdings LLC is going non-stop.

Its Cumberland division will now buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether and about 30 other cryptocurrencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, lead trader Bobby Cho said in an interview. A November expansion in Singapore allowed Chicago-based Cumberland to do business with customers non-stop on weekdays, but demand didn’t cease on Saturdays and Sundays, he said.

“It all stems from the underlying market being 24/7,” said Cho, who plans to discuss the expanded hours later on Tuesday at the Consensus crypto conference in New York.

The around-the-clock coverage is a first for DRW, which trades derivatives and equities with its own money on exchanges around the world. In the broader financial world, it’s also the first desk to never close, according to DRW. While the traditional currency market shutters over the weekend, crypto never sleeps, DRW spokeswoman Jessica Iverson said.

Several dozen people work for Cumberland worldwide, Iverson said. As well as trading Bitcoin and other digital assets for fiat currency, Cumberland also offers nearly 500 pairs of crypto assets like Bitcoin-Ether or Litecoin-XRP. The firm trades on exchanges and also does private over-the-counter deals with customers.

After a period of testing in the first quarter of the year, Cumberland is now offering its 24/7 service to all its customers, Cho said. “We wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Leising in Los Angeles at mleising@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Nick Baker, Steven Crabill

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