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(Kitco News) - EDX Markets (EDX), a digital asset marketplace backed by Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital and Virtu Financial, has announced the successful launch of its digital asset market and the completion of an investment round with new equity partners.
Development of the new platform was first announced in September and was marketed to the public as “a first-of-its-kind exchange that will address latent demand for digital asset trading by enabling safe and compliant trading of digital assets through trusted intermediaries.”
The platform is looking to become “the crypto marketplace of choice for industry leaders” by “building on best practices from traditional finance to provide customers with distinctive benefits including liquidity, competitive quotes and a unique, non-custodial model designed to mitigate conflicts of interest,” the press release said.
To help separate retail investors from the institutional crowd, EDX offers retail-only quotes, which allows participants “the benefit of better pricing for retail-originated orders.” The exchange currently offers access to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Moving forward, EDX has plans to launch ‘EDX Clearing’ later in 2023 to settle trades matched on EDX Markets. The clearinghouse will facilitate trades against a central counterparty, allowing participants to benefit from enhanced price competition and reduced settlement risks, while increasing operational efficiencies.
“EDX Clearing will be a major differentiator for EDX – and resolve an unmet need in the market – by enhancing competition and creating unparalleled operational efficiency through a single settlement process,” said Jamil Nazarali, CEO of EDX.
In addition to the launch of EDX Markets, the company announced the closing of its latest funding round, which included investments from International Holdings, DV Crypto, GTS, GSR Markets LTD, and HRT Technology.
The new funding will support EDX as it continues to develop its trading platform and solidifies its market leadership position, the company said.
“EDX’s ability to attract new investors and partners in the face of sector headwinds demonstrates the strength of our platform and the demand for a safe and compliant cryptocurrency market,” said Nazarali. “With the endorsement of our new and growing list of investors and customers, we’re proud to launch trading and look forward to further enhancements to our offering.”
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The board of directors at EDX previously stated that its reason for launching the new exchange stems from the fact that “Crypto is a $1 trillion global asset class with over 300 million participants and pent-up demand from millions more. Unlocking this demand requires a platform that can meet the needs of both retail traders and institutional investors with high compliance and security standards.”
According to the “Thematic Intelligence: Cryptocurrencies” report from GlobalData, global cryptocurrency revenue is expected to climb to $1.1 trillion in value by 2030, a significant increase from the $33 billion profit recorded in 2022.
EDX will leverage “a network of select digital custodians to safeguard assets,” which will enable trades to be “netted and settled on the blockchain for greater speed and efficiency at lower cost, eliminating the need for expensive bilateral settlement.”
The new exchange is specifically designed to “enable a highly liquid cryptocurrency ecosystem that aggregates liquidity from multiple market makers to reduce spreads and improve transparency,” the announcement said. “This commitment to price discovery and efficiency is expected to result in better prices for investors than those offered by existing cryptocurrency exchanges.”
