Fidor Bank in Germany is doing something rather unorthodox when it comes to licensed banks. The bank has introduced a bitcoin derivatives market, allowing speculators to bet on the rising and falling prices of bitcoin in the future.
CEO of Fidor Bank Matthias Kröner says bitcoin is gaining traction, saying that “I reckon that the Bitcoin durable as real currency is established, because it is a global currency [with] units that can be paid easily and efficiently In addition, the price is only determined by supply and demand, unlike, for example, gold.”
Fidor Bank is reportedly partnering up with Kraken.com for price quotes and other critical elements to make the market function.
For now, the market is available only to residents in Germany, though plans are in order to expand the market to neighboring countries in the European Union (via Finanzen)
