On Tuesday, a group of financial giants—including Fidelity Digital Assets, Citadel Securities, and Charles Schwab Corp.—announced their ambitions to build EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange. Big names in finance, including Sequoia Capital, Paradigm, and Virtu Financial, supported the launch.
Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities announced their ambitions to start a cryptocurrency exchange in a news statement on Tuesday, the 13th of September. The exchange will be known as EDX Markets (EDXM), and Jamil Nazarali, a former executive at Citadel Securities, will lead the organization as CEO.
Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial joined up with retail brokerage companies Fidelity Investment and Charles Schwab at the start of the summer to launch a cryptocurrency exchange that is “efficient, transparent, and safe, with agreed-upon standards and best practices,” market makers.
Their plan came to fruition with the introduction of EDX Markets (EDXM), which enables users to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies through dependable middlemen, according to a recent press release. The technical backbone for the newly established exchange will be provided by MEMX, a member-owned equity trading platform. Compared to current standard crypto exchanges, EDX will serve institutional and retail investors.
A Variety of Interests in Cryptocurrencies
For a while now, Fidelity’s division of digital assets has been interested in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but Citadel’s Ken Griffin has always been skeptical. Griffin’s viewpoint on digital currency assets shifted in March 2022, and he said that the world’s largest securities company intended to get into the space. Several months after Griffin’s remarks, in June, it was announced that Citadel Securities, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity Digital Assets would establish an exchange.
Charles Schwab’s asset management subsidiary introduced its first exchange-traded fund with a focus on cryptocurrencies at the end of July (ETF). Fidelity Digital Assets said in June that it was on a recruiting rampage for people who can oversee cryptocurrency trading and custody services during the crypto winter, when the sector lay off thousands of workers.
When discussing Fidelity Digital Assets, it is important to note that its parent business, Fidelity Investments, has a pro-cryptocurrency stance. The company made it possible for investors to include bitcoin in their 401(k) retirement plans earlier this year. Dave Gray, the company’s head of workplace retirement programs and platforms, stated at the time that the decision was made because the organization thinks blockchain technology and digital assets would play a significant part in the future of the financial sector.
