A power alliance in the business world can go terribly wrong or could be extremely lucrative. Combining synergies and principles for a common goal is not as easy as most people make it out to be. So will TeraExchange’s move to rope in former New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) CEO Duncan Niederauer as its Advisory Director of Tera Group prove to be worthwhile? Investors will be looking to keep a track of this development, especially now that two of the biggest U.S. stock exchange operators are definitely adopting measures in favour of Bitcoin (BTCS, Financial). Stepping out of ignominy, Bitcoin companies may be the next big thing happening for shareholders.
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ, Financial) said on Tuesday that it has given its nod to Noble Markets, a Bitcoin trading marketplace, to license Nasdaq's X-stream technology. This follows the New York Stock Exchange's January agreement to invest in Coinbase, another platform for trading digital currency. Duncan Niederauer’s appointment comes shortly after TeraExchange made a proclamation of its plans to launch a regulated platform that would be dedicated to “bitcoin derivatives as well as a spot bitcoin price index.”
TeraExchange and Bitcoin
TeraExchange plays an important role in America as a company that extends expertise to market participants to adhere to global regulatory goals in order to make financial operations more accountable and transparent without missing out on evolving trends in the OTC derivatives markets. TeraExchange provides clients the platform to ensure price transparency before trading on a real-time basis in addition to pre-trade credit checks which will stand on all order submissions, thereby ensuring an increased order clearance.
The company has also extended its playing field by introducing the Tera Bitcoin Price Index. Tera claims that with this index, the demands of payment processors, miners, global merchants and hedge funds will be catered to. Therefore, it is regarded as an effective hedging tool.
The head honcho
Duncan Niederauer joined the NYSE in April 2007 from Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) (an expert in trade execution). It was in the same year that NYSE completed its merger with Euronext NV. The merger was seen as a way to help the company expand internationally while also focusing on technological developments.
Niederauer was made CEO in November 2007. Thus began a new age in NYSE with Duncan investing his effort in trying to make changes to ensure that it managed to compete with all-electronic trading venues around the world. He was the silent force behind the building of data centres while also introducing trading techniques that were fresh and new. Following NYSE’s mergers, he also initiated a couple of cost-cutting rounds.
Duncan steered the NYSE Euronext ship with foresight and true grit. He was instrumental in growing the company and helping it navigate the 2008 financial crisis. He helped evolve market and regulatory conditions and was the key role player in industry consolidation. Under his leadership, the NYSE was seen as a consistent leader in IPO launches, including technology IPO listings. His leadership is evidenced in the numbers: NYSE could only win 15% of technology IPOs in 2013, while it went up to 54% of all technology IPOs in 2014 – a major leap.
Niederauer was the brains behind the Euronext negotiation process which ultimately witnessed the acquisition of the company by IntercontinentalExchange (ICE, Financial).
Win-win situation for both
Will the appointment prove to be a win-win for Tera and Niederauer? Niederauer will leverage on his global experience to provide Tera Group with strategic advice as well as growth strategy insight, considering he steered the ship of one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. He will also be the face of the company by representing them at select senior-level client conferences and events. With his international experience and perspective, he will definitely help the firm encash its full potential.
In fact, Duncan has not wasted any time even as he was settling into his new role. He has already begun advising the firm on ways to approach and capture various opportunities that are emerging in the global market for products like bitcoin.
TeraExchange will have sky high expectations from Niederauer. However, with his expertise and vast knowledge base, one can expect great things from this alliance.
