Bitstamp is getting a brand new matching engine to speed up trades on the venue

The Block • November 6, 2018, 6:20PM EST
Published 1 hour earlier on
UPDATED: November 6, 2018, 7:55PM EST
The Block

Bitstamp, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, is teaming up with a tech provider from the Wall Street guard, the companies announced jointly on Tuesday. 

Cinnober, a Swedish exchange technology provider, will replace Bitstamp's engine with its TRADExpress Trading System, which Bitstamp says will increase speed of order matching by 1,200x. “While Bitstamp’s matching engine was already very good by crypto standards, this will put us in the same league as traditional exchanges with decades of experience,” David Osojnik, Bitstamp's chief technology officer, said. “Our platform’s order matching speed is expected to become 1250x faster, while throughput will increase by 400x.”

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The new matching engine will be fully implemented by Q2 of 2019. Elsewhere, Coinbase is building a brand new matching engine to power its markets. In crypto, many exchanges do not run on systems akin to those found in traditional equity markets. As interest, especially from institutions, has increased in crypto so too has the desire for more institutional-grade trading technology. At the same time, exchanges aimed exclusively at institutions have popped up in 2018, including ErisX and Bakkt. 

Interestingly, Nasdaq, the U.S. equities exchange, announced in September it would acquire Cinnober. And Bitstamp announced it was acquired by a Belgium investment firm in October.

Reporting by Frank Chaparro in New York.

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