Citadel-backed EDX Markets chooses Anchorage for crypto custody

EDX Markets — the cryptocurrency exchange backed by Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities — proceeds with Anchorage Digital as its digital asset custodian.

Following its launch earlier this year, EDX Markets explained that the partnership with Anchorage Digital will allow it to settle trades through its own clearinghouse business, which is expected to become available next month, Bloomberg reported.

As the crypto asset class is maturing, we are separating the role of the custodian and exchange. Customers don’t need to tie up assets parked at an entity where they aren’t sure what’s going on.

EDX Markets CEO Jamil Nazarali

EDX Markets’ partnership with Anchorage Digital is central to the exchange’s value proposition. The reason is that the trading platform promotes itself as non-custodial, meaning that it does not hold user funds and does not require as much user trust.

The exchange’s approach mimics the way stocks and bond trading venues hold and settle assets. Institutional investors on such platforms can choose where their assets are held instead of being forced to entrust their assets to the exchange itself.

Nazarali also said that the exchange considers adding other custodial partners in the future if customers request them. He added that the company is “getting closer to the tested solutions you see in the traditional financial world.”

It’s a market structure change for crypto investors, combining the best of both worlds.

EDX Markets CEO Jamil Nazarali

Anchorage Digital subsidiary offers its custodial services through Anchorage Digital Bank, a company that holds a bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. The firm is also backed by Goldman Sachs and private equity firm KKR & Co, with a current valuation of $3 billion after a 2021 funding round.