- A new institutional cryptocurrency exchange has opened in the US
- EDX Markets, which is backed by Fidelity, has been under construction for nine months
- The exchange will launch with four coins it considers safe from regulatory action
EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, has launched in the US following nine months of development. The institutional-only exchange, which was announced in September 2022, will offer trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, matching the likes of PayPal. EDX Markets will operate a “non-custodial” model, meaning that clients’ digital assets will be custodied by a third-party custodian rather than the exchange itself looking after them.
Big Backers Suggests Big Plans
EDX markets its exchange as a “first-of-its-kind digital asset marketplace” with a focus on regulatory compliance, which is unsurprising for a crypto exchange launching in the current environment. This means that it is unlikely to add to its list of supported coins anytime soon, with Chief Executive Officer Jamil Nazarali telling Coindesk in April that it will wait for more guidance before potentially adding more:
We have a limited set of tokens because until there is more regulatory clarity, we don’t want to trade something that’s potentially a security. Regulators really like that we don’t take that risk.
The company also plans to launch EDX Clearing later this year, a clearinghouse that will settle trades matched on EDX Markets.
Inside Knowledge?
It is unknown how much contact EDX Markets has had with regulators prior to its launch, but it’s a fair bet that it will have received some guidance as to how the four coins it plans to launch with are seen by the likes of the SEC.
This means that either EDX Markets knows something we don’t or they are merely hedging their bets and risking their investors’ money.
