Atlas ATS, an exchange platform for digital currencies has launched a new platform for trading in options for digital currency and an array of order types for FIX API clients.

The new platform provides trading for major alternative digital currencies, derivative products, a new multi-signature transaction wallet and a larger selection of advanced order types for clients using the FIX interface.

Atlas 2.0 has been launched in Hong Kong and North America where Atlas ATS has established digital currency exchanges. Atlas 2.0 has been deployed on a global, secure, high precision private network exclusively managed under the Digital Currency Initiative (dci), a division of Perseus Telecom.

Perseus Telecom is focused on integrating all Perseus verticals with the Perseus dci. “Time is money and latency matters,” said Dr. Jock Percy, chief executive of Perseus Telecom. “Accelerating our high precision network deployed in most data centers globally is our primary focus.”

Perseus owns and operates a trans-Atlantic route called QuanTA which is getting enormous response due to the announcement of tax free trading in Denmark, Percy added. Perseus accepts Bitcoin for payment of services through GoCoin, a payment service for cryptocurrencies.

Demand for connectivity to Atlas and for Bitcoin trading in general has been strong from Perseus Telecom customers. “Companies have been waiting for this Wall Street grade technology and infrastructure to get comfortable with trading digital currency,” said Percy.

Atlas offers two types of option contracts, ‘Calls’ and ‘Puts’, which confer upon the owner the right to buy and sell, respectively, the underlying crypto-currency at a set ‘strike’ price on a given ‘expiration’ date.

“We have created digital options enabling people to buy and sell calls and puts on Bitcoin and Litecoin to hedge,” said Shawn Sloves, CEO of Atlas ATS. “If they have a position in Bitcoin or Litecoin, we give them the ability to hedge.”

Atlas 2.0 includes advanced order types available via FIX API, including trailing stops, stop limit, market, reserves, discretionary and mid-point peg orders. Additional order types will be made available to website and Web API users in the in the next major platform upgrade.

Atlas 2.0 also provides a coin agnostic (support of 180 plus alt-coins), multi-signature, read-only wallet with cold storage.

Digital currency trading, which to date has been mostly retail-focused, is beginning to shift into the institutional arena.

“What we’re seeing in 2014 is brokers, asset management firms and hedge funds are trying to on-ramp supported digital currency as an investment vehicle and a trade vehicle to offer to their customers,” Sloves said.

“In order for them to adapt, they need to start offering products that are based on digital currency. We’ve built infrastructure to support the new demand from traditional Wall Street firms, with 100% failover, and the audit and compliance functions that they’re used to today.”

Percy added in a statement: “Perseus is pleased to respond in tandem with Atlas ATS to the strong demand for diversified digital currency trading products accessible from any data center in the world. Both companies are truly able to translate real asset class risk, reliability and latency concerns and to utilize this expert knowledge for the digital currency trading ecosystem.”