Brazil’s XP Inc. to Launch Trading Platform for Clients in August

Brazilian low-cost financial services provider XP Inc (XP.O) announced its plans to launch the Xtage cryptocurrency trading platform by the middle of next month. The platform will initially offer only bitcoin and Ether options, however, the company’s Director of Financial Products, Lucas Rabechini, claims that the company, which has 3.6 million customers, expects to incorporate other digital assets by the end of 2022, as reported by Reuters.

Customers deemed by XP to have an "adequate investment profile for such operations" will gain early access to the platform in mid-August.

The company explained that all cryptocurrency trades carried out through the Xtage platform will comply with all user eligibility rules, as well as those for the level of risk presented.

By the end of 2022 and into early 2023, the São Paulo-based platform intends to add a further 10 cryptocurrencies to its digital trade offerings, Rabechini said.

For Rabechini, the current cryptocurrency crisis, which has eroded away almost half of bitcoin’s value, has not prevented the company from continuing with its expansion plans in the crypto industry, and the executive remains confident of the business’ long term prospects.

"You can say 'the volume has been weak, there will be few orders,' but we see this market systematically growing over time," Rabechini explained. However, he also acknowledged that, while situation is not something to ignore, it is also not a factor of concern for them. 

"Our long-term vision is not just about price”, but also about the blazing-fast technology for order execution, which the company has developed together with Nasdaq Inc, he added.

Asked about other digital assets, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Rabechini tentatively said that they are being considered, but that there are no definite plans to integrate them onto the platform for now.

The initial release of XP’s Xtage platform was in May, but company employees began testing it in July in order to validate its operability.

Among the company’s staunchest competitors in Brazil are financial services companies such as Nubank, Itaú Unibanco, and BTG Pactual, which also plan to provide cryptocurrency trading services for their clients.