Chicago-based crypto exchange ErisX raised 27.5 million dollars from companies such as Fidelity, Bitmain, Consensys, and Nasdaq Ventures in a Series B funding round according to a press release published by Business Wire. "ErisX is receiving additional support from existing investors including CTC Group Investments, Digital Currency Group, DRW Venture Capital, Pantera Capital and Valor Equity Partners," the press release said. In addition, ErisX will offer investors the ability to trade Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum cryptocurrencies on spot and futures market starting in 2019. "Closing this second round of funding enables us to continue building our modern platform and expand our team," said ErisX Chief Executive Officer Thomas Chippas. "With increasing financial support from leading edge firms, ErisX stands to provide the most robust, secure and regulated digital asset offering available to both institutional and individual participants." According to Joseph Lubin, CEO of ConsenSys, they are expecting ErisX to "drive significant growth in institutional flows in both spot and futures digital asset markets in 2019." Previously in October, US broker TD Ameritrade, investing company DRW Holdings and high-speed trader Virtu Financial invested in ErisX. DRW and Virtu agreed to be market makers for ErisX. “Our retail clients are seeking to access and trade digital currency products in the same way they do with traditional capital markets – through a legitimate, regulated and transparent exchange,” said Steve Quirk, executive vice president of Trading & Education at TD Ameritrade. “That is precisely why we chose to invest in ErisX – to make digital currency products more accessible to retail clients.” Signature Bank to offer real-time blockchain payments Signature Bank, a New York-based institution, launched a digital payment platform using blockchain technology to conduct real time payments called Signet, according to a press release published by the bank. Beginning January 1, 2019, Signed will allow bank's customers to make payments 24/7 in real time with no fees and top security. The money will go from peer to peer, not intermediaries included. Signed will be allowed to clients with an account balance of $250,000. "Typically," the press release says, "in the case of real-time payments, funds are transferred between two different institutions. With Signet, funds are transferred in real-time between commercial clients of Signature Bank, eliminating any dependence on a third party." Signet has the approval for use by the New York State Department of Financial Services, with deposits secured by the FDIC insurance. According to Scott Shay, chairman of Signature Bank’s board, "Signet puts Signature Bank on the cutting edge of commercial digital payments." Poloniex to offer institutional trading services Circle's crypto exchange Poloniex announced new institutional trading services with minimums order size of 250,000 dollars starting Tuesday. The exchange supports crypto trading pairs. "Institutions large and small can enjoy the benefits of our large curated selection of crypto asset trading pairs, dedicated support and robust API services," the press release said. Poloniex offers "higher withdrawal limits and professional customer support from a dedicated team of Account Managers in our Client Services department."