The first Wall Street investment bank to take the plunge! Cowen launches spot crypto trading ahead of the competition

"We have a tremendous first-mover advantage in this space," Charney said. "Because of our culture, we're able to work with our legal, compliance and regulatory agencies in a way that our larger competitors may not be able to do, and we're able to find solutions faster."

Regulatory uncertainty, internal compliance and other factors have hindered large banks from entering the cryptocurrency spot market. The risk in that market may be higher due to the volatility and anonymity of the asset. Goldman Sachs (GS.US) announced this week that it has executed its first over-the-counter crypto options transaction.

Cowen also plans to offer derivatives, loans, DeFi and NFT. It offers principal trading, taking the risk during the transaction.