tZERO announced it’s launched an enhancement to its private digital security trading platform that enables customers to fund their brokerage accounts using USD Coin (USDC). The feature provides automatic liquidation of USDC through a third-party custodian to enable brokerage account funding for securities transactions. The user must have a custodial bank account with Prime Trust, and a tZERO spokesperson said the firm hopes to add other custodians in the future.
USDC is an open-source, smart contract-based stablecoin that is backed by reserved assets. Through this technology enhancement, users are now able to sell their USDC through their third-party custodial accounts and cryptocurrency wallets and transfer the fiat USD proceeds to their brokerage account at tZERO Markets. tZERO plans to expand this functionality to a variety of cryptocurrencies.
tZERO’s interim CEO and chief legal officer Alan Konevsky said in a statement: “As the industry works to weave digital assets into the fabric of traditional finance and leverage the benefits of blockchain technology, today’s announcement marks an important step in debalkanizing the industry and improving the customer experience.”
All tZERO Markets customers will have access to this enhanced functionality. Through the tZERO Markets user interface, a user will have access to a third-party application of a custodial bank. In the custodial bank’s application, the user will be able to open a custodial bank account, deposit USDC stablecoin in their custodial account, convert their USDC to fiat, and then deposit the fiat into their brokerage account to use in the purchase of securities trading on the tZERO ATS.