From coindesk By Helene Braun| Edited by Stephen Alpher
What to know:
- EDX Markets is adding 17 new cryptocurrencies to attract more institutional investors and expand its trading options.
- The exchange’s non-custodial model, using financial intermediaries for trades, appeals to regulators and mirrors traditional stock exchanges.
- EDX plans to launch a perpetual futures exchange in Singapore in the second quarter, targeting global markets outside the U.S.
EDX Markets, which is backed by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, is adding 17 new cryptocurrencies to its platform, transforming its previously limited selection into a more robust trading platform as it gets ready to absorb growing institutional demand for crypto.
“From the outset, we were designed and built for institutions for exactly what’s happening right now,” EDX Markets CEO Tony Acuña-Rohter, told CoinDesk.
Acuña-Rohter was appointed CEO of the exchange in December after founder and then-CEO Jamil Nazarali moved to the position of executive chair of the EDX Board. “We were quite fortunate because FTX happened, crypto winter followed, which gave us two years to build out our technology," said Acuña-Rohter. “Now we have this company that’s ready to absorb all the new entrants from traditional finance.”
The newly listed tokens include AAVE (Aave), BCH (Bitcoin Cash), COMP (Compound), LINK (Chainlink), PEPE (Pepecoin), SOL (Solana), UNI (Uniswap), USDC (USD Coin), WIF (Dogwifhat), XRP (Ripple), AVAX (Avalanche), ADA (Cardano), BONK (Bonk Coin), Stellar Lumens (XLM), TRUMP (Trump Coin), XTZ (Tezos), ETC (Ethereum Classic).
“We tend to be very conservative from a regulatory perspective and because we are focused on institutions, we also make sure that we have very clear processes, policies and procedures,” saidAcuña-Rohter. The risk of adding the new tokens decreased significantly with the new administration, which is very focused on providing clarity rather than enforcing actions against crypto companies, he added.
The exchange, which is available to institutions only, launched in the U.S. in June 2023 and made headlines with investments from major Wall Street firms Fidelity, Schwab, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital and Citadel, the latter being a former employer of Nazarali.
One key difference between EDX Markets and other crypto exchanges is that it doesn’t hold customers' digital assets. Instead, users trade through financial intermediaries, much like how transactions occur on traditional stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. This structure appeals to regulators, EDX CEO Jamil Nazarali explained, as it ensures a clear separation between the exchange and broker-dealer functions.
