Bitcoin futures options

Wall Street has officially embraced bitcoin. And why not? Wall Street can scalp fractions of bitcoins just as easily as fractions of pennies.

High-speed telecommunications provider Perseus Telecom and digital currency trading platform Atlas ATS formally launched Wednesday a globally integrated bitcoin exchange system in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore to facilitate trading in the digital currency by high-frequency trading firms and other large financial institutions.

The two firms' collaboration, first reported last month by The Wall Street Journal, marks a milestone in the evolution of bitcoin out of a retail-oriented, loosely regulated low-tech environment to one that is open to the high-volume and strictly regulated activities of Wall Street.

"Now, institutional investors and banks can see that there are known players with the right pedigree" engaged in bitcoin, said Jock Percy, chief executive officer of Perseus, whose high-bandwidth lines are used to connect securities exchanges around the world with institutional investors' trade execution platforms.

"Right Pedigree"

Sooner or later, where there's money to be scalped, front-run, or otherwise manipulated, Wall Street has the "right pedigree" and is sure to want a part of it.

Expect bitcoin futures, options, and options on bitcoin futures to follow. Bitcoin LIeBOR anyone? Why not?

Wall Street's embrace of bitcoin likely ensures its survival. No one will want to end a party that Wall Street has embraced. Bitcoin is here to stay.