Bitcoin exchange operator Coinbase has added support for the FIX protocol for order management by professional traders.
Currently available in beta, users of the API will typically be operating from an order management system set up to support the FIX protocol.
"While our existing REST and WebSockets APIs provide full functionality for all users, the new FIX API is designed to support customers with existing trading software that uses the FIX protocol for order management," says the company in a statement.
It's another example of the gradual integration of the crypto-currency in the professional trading arena. Already, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg offer bitcoin pricing in their market data feeds.
Meanwhile, Wedbush Securities and TeraExchange yesterday announced their support for the newly-formed Wall Street Bitcoin Alliance, which has been set up to guide and promote comprehensive adoption of digital currency and blockchain technology across financial markets.
The WSBA plans to engage with regulators, policymakers and technology innovators to guide the public dialogue about bitcoin and blockchain technology, "so that the financial markets can realise the full potential of these rapidly changing and innovative capabilities".