Financial Heavyweights Citadel, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Confirm Cryptocurrency Exchange Launch

A number of financial giants including Fidelity Investments, Citadel Securities, and Charles Schwab Corp. announced on Tuesday that the consortium of companies plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange called EDX Markets. Reports note that firms like Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, and Virtu Financial are also backing the new crypto trading platform. The story was first reported during the first week of June, but the companies confirmed creating the new crypto exchange this week and appointed a CEO.

EDX Markets Plans to ‘Remove Significant Conflicts of Interest That Affect Existing Cryptocurrency Exchanges’

In a press release published Tuesday, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities revealed that the financial heavyweights have plans to launch a crypto exchange. The exchange will be called EDX Markets, and the former Citadel executive, Jamil Nazarali, will be the platform’s CEO.

The EDX launch date is unconfirmed at the moment, but the trading engine will be operated by MEMX, otherwise known as the Members Exchange. The Wall Street Journal reports that the high-speed trading company Virtu Financial, and the venture firms Paradigm and Sequoia Capital are behind EDX’s upcoming launch.

EDX will cater to institutional and retail investors and it will be different than traditional crypto exchanges today. EDX aims to “remove significant conflicts of interest that affect existing cryptocurrency exchanges,” the EDX press release published on Tuesday notes.

Fidelity has been into cryptocurrencies and bitcoin for quite some time, but Citadel’s Ken Griffin has been a skeptic. In March 2022, Griffin’s perspective on crypto assets changed, and he mentioned the securities giant planned to make moves in crypto. Following Griffin’s commentary, months later in June, it was reported that Citadel, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity would launch an exchange.

“We know there is significant interest in this cryptocurrency space and we will look to invest in firms and technologies working to offer access with a strong regulatory focus and in a secure environment,” Mayura Hooper, a spokesperson for Charles Schwab said at the time.

At the end of July, Charles Schwab’s asset management subsidy launched its first crypto-related exchange-traded fund (ETF). Amid the crypto winter, while the crypto industry laid off thousands of employees, Fidelity said in June it was on a hiring spree for individuals who can manage crypto trading and digital currency custody services.

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