Edx Markets, supported by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, adds 17 new cryptocurrencies to its platform and transforms its previously limited selection into a more robust trading platform when it comes to absorbing the growing institutional demand for crypto .
“From the start we were designed and built for institutions for exactly what is happening right now,” Edx Markets CEO Tony Acuña-Rohter told Coindesk.
Acuña-Rohter was appointed CEO of the exchange in December, after the founder and then CEO Jamil Nazarali moved to the position of executive chairman of the EDX board. “We were quite lucky because FTX happened, Crypto Winter followed, giving us two years to build our technology,” said Acuña-Rohter. “Now we have this company that is ready to absorb all the new participants from traditional financing.”
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 legislative perspective, and because we are focused on institutions, we also make sure we have very clear processes, policies and procedures,” Saidacuña-Rohter. The risk of adding the new tokens dropped significantly with the new administration, which is very focused on giving clarity rather than enforcing actions against cryptic businesses, he added.
The exchange, which is only available to institutions, was launched in the United States in June 2023 and made headlines with investments from major Wall Street companies Fidelity, Schwab, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital and Citadel, the latter being a former employer in Nazarali.
An important difference between EDX markets and other crypto exchanges is that it does not hold customers’ digital assets. Instead, users are trading through financial intermediaries, just as how transactions occur on traditional exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. This structure appeals to regulators, EDX CEO Jamil Nazarali explained as it ensures a clear separation between exchange and broker-dealer functions.
However, EDX markets kept its asset offers low for the past two years and adhered to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).
By integrating a basket with new assets, the exchange hopes to grow its customer base and be a one-stop shop for clients globally.
The company also plans to introduce an eternal futures exchange in the second quarter of this year, which will be based on Singapore, but available for jurisdictions all over the world that allow trade in eternal futures. This does not include the US
In the US, where the company is based, EDX continues to focus on expanding its product offerings and onboarding clients from the traditional financial world, Acuña-Rohter said, noting that the company is already working with various clients to solidify their plans and map their integration in the room.
“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for,” he said.
