US trading giants and brokerage companies are constructing a cryptocurrency exchange that will further mainstream investment in digital assets by modeling its design after that used by conventional asset classes. According to an interview with CEO Jamil Nazarali, EDX Markets will begin trading a small number of spot, crypto tokens in November, with the formal debut occurring in January. Charles Schwab, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Citadel Securities, and Virtu Financial are among the firms that have invested in it.
Investors will be able to trade digital assets via their current broker-dealer on EDX, much like stocks and options. This is preferable to using a third-party platform or a native cryptocurrency exchange. Nazarali stated that to transform virtual finance into a more efficient tool and save money for investors, they’re taking some of the finest elements of conventional finance and moving them to the digital markets.
Former global head of business development at Citadel Securities, Nazarali is now one of EDX’s many seasoned industry professionals. The General Counsel of EDX is David Forman, formerly the top legal officer for Fidelity Brokerage Services. Tony Acuna-Rohter is the CTO of the exchange. Acuna-Rohter formerly held the same position at ErisX, which is now a part of Cboe Global Markets.
MEMX, an exchange platform established by major U.S. stock market participants, is developing the necessary infrastructure. According to Nazarali, EDX would operate from a data center in Secaucus, New Jersey, utilizing software to guarantee deals are executed in the order they are received. He remarked that most cryptocurrency markets handle orders in a way that is fundamentally different from this.
EDX Aims
By working with EDX, MEMX will be able to enter the digital asset trading market without a total redesign, as stated by CEO Jonathan Kellner. To accommodate the additional functions involved in trading digital assets, the existing infrastructure was adapted. The companies are joining together in an effort to attract a previously untapped group of passive investors. Despite layoffs and a price drop being labeled a “crypto winter,” established corporations have shown interest in the cryptocurrency market as a result of an increasing number of institutional investors’ familiarity with crypto.
Many prospective investors are interested in cryptocurrencies but wary of the risks associated with using the current crypto exchanges, Nazarali added. However, if cryptocurrency trading is made available, they are already experienced working with broker-dealers in other asset classes. According to him, conflicts of interest may be avoided entirely when the responsibility for running an exchange is kept separate from those who trade on it.
