Coinbase Exchange Adds FIX protocol

In a major move, Coinbase Exchange has added support for the FIX (Financial Information eXchange) protocol. The protocol, launched in 1992, increases the speed and efficiency of processing orders in the financial markets. It has become the standard messaging protocol in equity markets and is gaining popularity in forex, fixed income and derivatives markets.

Coinbase's bitcoin exchange launched about a month and a half ago, claims to be the first regulated exchange in the cryptocurrency space. It has captured around 2 percent of the global bitcoin trading market, and ranks fourth at present, in US dollar-based volumes.

The exchange is making the feature available for traders already using software that includes the FIX protocol. It mentioned that other APIs such as REST and WebSockets also offer complete functionality, the FIX protocol is particularly targeting professional traders.