EDX Markets, an institutional-only crypto trading venue with its own central clearinghouse, has closed a $76 million Series C funding round led by SBI Holdings, the firm said in a press release. The Tokyo-listed financial group becomes a strategic investor in the U.S. exchange.

The capital will fund expansion of EDX's trading, clearing and settlement capabilities, along with product development and global operations, according to the release. "Their investment strengthens our ability to deliver the capabilities and market access that financial institutions need to engage with digital assets confidently and at scale," EDX Markets CEO Tony Acuña-Rohter said in the announcement.

SBI Holdings, a Tokyo-based financial group founded in 1999 that runs SBI Shinsei Bank and SBI Securities among other units, has been building out its own crypto infrastructure. SBI Group recently launched JPYSC, described in the release as Japan's first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin.

"As SBI Group continues to expand its digital asset ecosystem through initiatives such as the issuance of JPYSC... and the domestic handling of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins including RLUSD and USDC, we believe trusted market infrastructure will serve as a critical foundation for institutional adoption," said Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI Holdings' chairman and president, in the release.

Recent moves to court institutional clients

EDX filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank for regulated custody, clearing and settlement.
Earlier this year the firm launched EDX FlowConnect, a crypto-as-a-service product letting firms build their own digital asset trading offerings.

EDX combines an institution-only spot venue with a central clearinghouse designed to settle trades daily and limit bilateral counterparty exposure between members.

Source: The Defiant

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