Grygo is the chief content officer for FTF & FTF News.
Without a lot of fanfare, digital asset marketplace company EDX Markets, based in Jersey City, N.J., went live with a cryptocurrency platform during a crypto winter that’s beginning to thaw while regulators are rooting out alleged crypto crooks and rogues.
Crucially, EDX describes itself as “the first-of-its-kind digital asset marketplace” that sidesteps providing custody support for transactions. It provides the space for firms to haggle digitally but lets transaction counterparties sort out the rest. This hands-off approach has the backing of new strategic investors Miami International Holdings, lDV Crypto, GTS, GSR Markets LTD, and HRT Technology.
The new investors were added to a “coalition of founding investors” such as Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, and Virtu Financial.
All of that funding will go to EDX as it develops its trading platform and strengthens its place in the market, officials say.
The support of “major financial institutions” is in line with “traditional finance to provide customers with distinctive benefits including liquidity, competitive quotes, and a unique, non-custodial model designed to mitigate conflicts of interest,” EDX says.
“EDX also introduced a retail-only quote to the crypto markets, allowing participants the benefit of better pricing for retail-originated orders. Products traded on EDX include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH),” officials add.
The SEC has noted that Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash are not securities and thus are not likely to be the focus of intense regulatory scrutiny.
In addition to the new support, the company will launch “EDX Clearing 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,” officials say.
“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,” says Jamil Nazarali, CEO of EDX, in a prepared statement. “Looking ahead, 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.”
Many self-proclaimed crypto industry experts are noting that EDX is taking a conservative approach to its market entry and that its timing is pretty good considering that other exchanges are under fire from regulators for blissfully ignoring 90 years of securities law and regulation.
So, it seems that being exceedingly prudent would be the smartest path to success in an industry that has too many crypto cowboys that tried to outsmart the regulators but miscalculated badly. They let their egos and arrogance mean more than investor protection.
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