A group of Wall Street firms have announced the start of a new cryptocurrency exchange, called EDX Markets (EDXM). The exchange, called EDX Markets, is being launched by a consortium of financial heavyweights, including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab Corp, and other Wall Street firms, according to a press release from 13 September.
The new exchange is also backed by Virtu Financial Inc., Sequoia Capital, and Paradigm.
The latest venture by Wall Street firms could lend a huge boost to the crypto ecosystem and pave the way to a bright future for digital assets. The fact that the new exchange has been announced despite the current market slump is significant.
EDX Markets can be used to trade crypto and other digital assets. The platform aims to serve both individual and institutional investors. According to the press release, the “first-of-its-kind exchange” will enable safer, faster, and more efficient trading.
The technology to run the EDXM exchange will be provided by Members Exchange, or MEMX, a stock exchange. Some of the same firms backing EDX, including Citadel Securities, Fidelity, Schwab, and Virtu, are behind MEMX.
Furthermore, the press release emphasized that the exchange’s operations will be separated from the firms that trade in its marketplace. The separation is meant to eliminate conflicts of interest that affect existing crypto exchanges.
A former senior executive of electronic trading giant Citadel Securities, Jamil Nazarali will act as the CEO, the press note revealed. It is interesting to note that until recently, the founder of Citadel, Ken Griffin, has expressed skepticism about crypto.
A timeline for its launch is not yet available.