The new “first-of-its-kind” EDX Markets digital asset marketplace has commenced operations, it’s been announced today.
The new crypto exchange is backed by an alliance of prominent brokers and Wall Street powerhouses, including Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, and Virtu Financial.
EDX operates as a non-custodial exchange, meaning that its users will retain control of their private keys and have direct ownership of their assets throughout the trading process. Later this year, it plans to launch a clearing house to facilitate trade settlement.
Only Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash can be traded on the platform presently.
CEO of EDX and former global head of business development at Citadel Securities, Jamil Nazarali expressing the exchange’s commitment to bridging the gap between traditional finance and cryptocurrency markets.
“We are committed to bringing the best of traditional finance to cryptocurrency markets, with an infrastructure built by market experts to embed key institutional best practices. 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,” he said.
The consortium of Wall Street giants had announced plans to launch the crypto exchange in September 2022 to address the demand for digital asset trading.
EDX at inception positioned itself as a solution to market demands by enabling safe and compliant trading of digital assets through trusted intermediaries. It promised to ensure cheaper trading by aggregating liquidity from multiple market makers to reduce spread.
It partnered with MEMX, a forward-thinking market operator founded in 2019, to leverage their cutting-edge technology infrastructure. The scalable exchange architecture developed by MEMX empowered EDX to serve the diverse needs of both major financial institutions and retail investors.
Regulatory battle intensifies
The news comes at a time when exchanges in the industry are facing mounting pressure from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The regulatory agency charged Coinbase and Binance for violating securities law. In the lawsuits, it termed 13 cryptos including Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC) as “securities”, forcing exchanges like eToro, Robinhood and Bakkt to delist them.
The future trajectory of EDX in the midst of these lawsuits is still uncertain. However, its strategic positioning as a non-custodial exchange, coupled with its close relationships with influential Wall Street entities and a curated selection of tradable assets, could potentially prove instrumental in guiding the platform through the challenging circumstances in the industry.
