Analysis
EDX Markets, an institutional cryptocurrency trading platform, closed a $76 million Series C funding round led by SBI Holdings on July 7 -- the first time the company has publicly disclosed the size of any of its funding rounds since launching in 2023 with backing from some of the most recognizable names in traditional and crypto-native finance.
EDX's model is built around separating trading from custody through a central clearinghouse, a structure designed to minimize counterparty risk for institutional clients wary of the exchange-custody conflicts that contributed to prior crypto-market blowups. The platform launched with financial and strategic backing from Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab, Paradigm and Sequoia Capital -- a syndicate that signaled institutional intent from day one rather than a retail-first crypto exchange pivoting toward institutions later.
The more structurally significant disclosure alongside the funding is that EDX has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank that would provide regulated custody, clearing, settlement and risk-management services directly to institutional clients. That filing lands in the exact same week Circle won final OCC approval for its own comparable national trust bank charter -- meaning two of the most institutionally-backed names in crypto market infrastructure are independently pursuing the same regulatory chassis within days of each other.
EDX says proceeds from the Series C will go toward expanding its institutional trading venue, enhancing clearing and settlement capabilities, accelerating product development, and supporting international expansion. SBI Holdings' role as lead investor extends a pattern the Japanese financial conglomerate is running across crypto infrastructure broadly -- it also led Gauntlet's $125 million round in the same window, positioning SBI as one of the most active institutional backers of the plumbing underneath crypto markets rather than trading products themselves.
For founders building institutional crypto infrastructure, EDX's parallel funding-and-charter announcement demonstrates that raising capital and pursuing federal regulatory credentials are increasingly treated as a single combined strategy, not sequential steps -- companies are securing both simultaneously to compete for the same institutional mandates. For investors, the fact that EDX chose this specific moment to disclose funding-round size publicly for the first time suggests the company sees competitive value in demonstrating capital strength just as Circle's OCC approval reshapes the competitive landscape for trust-bank charters in crypto.
The bear case: OCC trust-bank applications can take a year or more to clear even with strong sponsorship, and EDX's charter bid could face a materially different review timeline or outcome than Circle's already-approved application. What to watch next: how quickly the OCC processes EDX Trust's application relative to Circle's roughly year-long approval timeline, and whether EDX's institutional trading volumes grow proportionally to its now-disclosed funding base.
