Brazil’s Biggest Brokerage is Officially Joining the Cryptocurrency Markets

Brazil’s largest independent brokerage is the latest example of a retail stock exchange to enter the cryptocurrency markets amidst a growing movement for stock exchanges to offer retail investors access to cryptocurrencies.

Grupo XP, the owner of XP Investmentos SA, the largest independent brokerage in Brazil, announced that they would be moving into the cryptocurrency markets by offering a platform exchange for Bitcoin and Ethereum in the coming months. Grupo XP’s CEO, Guilherme Benchimol, spoke about the launch of the new platform while at an event in Sao Paulo earlier this week.

Currently, cryptocurrency’s popularity is exploding in Brazil, with investors having five times as much exposure to Bitcoin as they do stocks. The sheer popularity of Bitcoin is what is pushing the exchange into the markets, although Benchimol isn’t excited about his exchange’s new product.

“I must confess, this is a theme I’d rather didn’t exist, but it does. We felt obligated to start…