Digital asset securities platform, Prometheum, and custodian and infrastructure provider, Anchorage Digital Bank announced their relationship to create the first public Alternative Trading System (ATS) for digital assets. The ATS, headed by Prometheum’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Prometheum Ember ATS (“PEATS”), will be a FINRA and SEC-regulated trading system that allows investors to trade digital asset securities.

“A public ATS for digital assets will allow more efficient order matching and better price discovery, bringing smaller price spreads and simplified participation for all investors”, said Aaron Kaplan, Founder and Co-CEO of Prometheum, “With Anchorage’s digital asset banking approval, we are even more encouraged about the regulatory environment going forward and are confident we have chosen the right partner.”

PEATS brings ATS-technology, commonly found in traditional finance to digital assets pursuant to recent guidance from the SEC, known as the SEC 3 Step Process. The PEATS ATS will be open to trading pending regulatory final approval and, once launched, Anchorage Digital Bank will custody digital assets transacted through PEATS.

This news follows a historic first as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted conditional approval in January making Anchorage Digital Bank National Association the first federally chartered digital asset bank. This designation, along with Prometheum’s pending ATS application, will create a strong regulatory foundation for supporting the first public market for digital asset securities.

“Regulatory clarity is the building block to enabling broad participation in digital assets,” said President and CEO of Anchorage Digital Bank, Nathan McCauley, “At Anchorage, it’s by operating in existing regulatory frameworks so we can bring innovations to market with capable builders like Prometheum.”

Founded by seasoned Wall Street securities attorneys, Prometheum strives to make emerging technologies accessible to the public. When its ATS goes live, Prometheum will be a full-service SEC and FINRA registered electronic market integrating both traditional and blockchain technology for the trading of digital asset securities, with on-chain custody and settlement provided by Anchorage Digital Bank.

In September 2019, Prometheum purchased a version of InteliClear’s post-trade solution technology, which provides a clearing solution currently used by numerous traditional U.S. clearing firms. More recently, Prometheum announced the acquisition of Manorhaven Capital LLC, a licensed broker-dealer, the SEC approval of its wholly-owned transfer agent, Spark Transfer Services, as well as the close of an oversubscribed funding round.

Source: Prometheum