Online trading platform TD Ameritrade is joining a new alliance to promote crypto startups and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Dubbed the “Chicago DeFi Alliance” (CDA), the group seeks to support startups working in DeFi, which is an umbrella term for a broad push to automate and remove middlemen from traditional financial services, including borrowing and lending, derivatives, margin trading and insurance, by using decentralized platforms.
On top of providing market liquidity, CDA says it will offer a large network of experienced traders and market-makers while helping startups navigate the current regulatory framework.
Imran Khan, an executive at CDA founding member Volt Capital, says that the alliance can help create a healthy DeFi ecosystem.
“We’re very early in DeFi. I think there’s going to be a lot of hand-holding with some of these companies before [DeFi contracts] become decentralized. Right now everyone is just dogfooding their own products. The goal for us, as the CDA, is to help us get out of that cycle.”
Other members of the new initiative include crypto asset trading companies CMT Digital and Cumberland DRW, venture capital firm Jump Capital, DeFi startup Compound Finance, trading firm DV Trading, and asset management firm Arca.