EDX Markets has closed a $76 million Series C funding round led solely by Japan’s SBI Holdings, a move that signals how seriously major traditional finance institutions are now betting on regulated institutional crypto trading infrastructure. It is the first time EDX has publicly disclosed the size of one of its funding rounds — a notable shift for a firm whose earlier backers included Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, Sequoia Capital, and Paradigm, all of whom participated in rounds whose terms were never revealed.
Summary
Key takeaways
- EDX Markets raised $76 million in a Series C round with SBI Holdings as the sole investor — the company’s first publicly disclosed funding amount.
- The capital will go toward expanding trading, clearing, and settlement services, accelerating product development, and scaling global operations.
- EDX integrated with Ripple Prime in May to give institutional clients unified access to spot and perpetual futures liquidity, with RLUSD earmarked for settlement and collateral roles.
- EDX launched EDX FlowConnect, a crypto-as-a-service product enabling firms to offer digital asset trading to their own customers.
- EDX has filed with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank for custody, clearing, settlement, and risk management.
EDX Markets Secures $76 Million Series C Led by SBI Holdings
SBI Holdings is the sole investor in this equity round. EDX CEO Tony Acuña-Rohter confirmed the deal to The Block but declined to disclose its terms or EDX’s current valuation. What he did make clear is where the money goes: strengthening trading, clearing and settlement infrastructure, accelerating new product development, and pushing EDX’s footprint into new global markets — with particular attention to the Asia-Pacific region.
“The funding gives us flexibility to invest in the areas that matter most to our institutional clients,” Acuña-Rohter said. “We’re focused on building the kind of market infrastructure institutions expect. That means bringing together the efficiency and innovation of digital assets with the transparency and risk management standards of TradFi.”
That framing matters. EDX was founded in 2022 specifically to bring traditional market structure — clearinghouses, compliance layers, institutional-grade settlement — to digital assets. The firm operates an institutional-only crypto marketplace and central clearinghouse, running a US-focused spot exchange alongside a Singapore-based perpetual futures venue for eligible non-US clients. It was never designed for retail. The entire thesis is about capturing the next wave of large banks and asset managers entering crypto through a structure they already trust.
Why SBI Holdings Is the Right Fit Here
SBI Holdings is not a passive financial backer. The Tokyo-based financial group has been systematically building regulated digital asset infrastructure across multiple fronts — stablecoins, securities, banking, and crypto-related services. It recently launched JPYSC, Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. It is also actively involved in the domestic handling of US dollar-denominated stablecoins, including RLUSD and USDC.
Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI Holdings’ Representative Director, Chairman and President, put it directly: “EDX has built and provides a robust, regulatory-compliant platform that addresses the growing demand for institutional digital asset infrastructure.” Kitao added that trusted market infrastructure will be a “critical foundation” for institutional adoption as SBI expands its digital asset ecosystem through JPYSC and dollar-denominated stablecoin initiatives.
For EDX, this is more than capital. Acuña-Rohter noted that SBI’s global reach and deep experience in both financial services and digital assets makes it a strategic partner, specifically calling out the opportunity to “redouble” EDX’s efforts in Asia-Pacific. The alignment is structural: SBI needs compliant institutional trading venues to complete its digital asset stack; EDX needs a partner with the regulatory standing and geographic reach to scale beyond its current US and Singapore operations.
Current Operations and Product Expansion at EDX Markets
Even before this funding round closed, EDX had been moving fast on product development. In May, Ripple Prime integrated with EDX Markets and EDXM International to give institutional clients unified access to spot and perpetual futures liquidity through a single prime brokerage framework. The deal was not just about market access — the Ripple Prime integration also placed RLUSD in a planned settlement and collateral role, a concrete example of how stablecoin infrastructure is being wired directly into institutional trading plumbing.
That detail deserves attention. Using a stablecoin like RLUSD for settlement and margin collateral within an institutional clearinghouse framework is a meaningful step toward making crypto-native settlement viable for traditional finance participants. It sidesteps some of the friction of fiat settlement cycles while keeping the process within a regulated structure — exactly the kind of hybrid approach institutions have been asking for.
EDX FlowConnect and the Crypto-as-a-Service Push
EDX also launched EDX FlowConnect, a crypto-as-a-service product designed to help firms offer digital asset trading to their own customers. Rather than requiring every institution to build trading infrastructure from scratch, FlowConnect positions EDX as the underlying engine — a B2B2C model that could meaningfully widen the number of end users interacting with EDX’s markets without EDX needing to acquire them directly.
It is a smart distribution strategy. If large banks and financial intermediaries can white-label or plug into EDX’s infrastructure, the platform’s market share grows without proportional marketing spend. The institutional crypto trading sector is consolidating around firms that can offer this kind of full-stack service — trading venue, clearinghouse, and now crypto-as-a-service delivery — under one regulated roof.
Regulatory Progress: EDX Trust and the OCC Filing
Perhaps the most strategically significant development running alongside this funding round is EDX’s application to establish EDX Trust. The company filed with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create a national trust bank specifically built for digital asset custody, clearing, settlement, and risk management.
A national trust bank charter would give EDX a level of regulatory standing that few crypto-native firms possess. It would allow EDX Trust to operate as a federally regulated custodian — the kind of structure that large institutional allocators, pension funds, and banks require before they will move meaningful assets onto any platform. Combined with the existing clearinghouse operations and the OCC application, EDX is building a regulatory moat that would be difficult for competitors to replicate quickly.
Venture Capital Still Flows Toward Regulated Crypto Infrastructure
The broader funding context reinforces what this round signals. Even as overall venture capital activity in crypto remains below its 2021 peak, capital continues flowing into specific categories: trading systems, settlement networks, tokenized assets, and payment rails. These are not speculative bets on token prices — they are infrastructure investments in the pipes and plumbing that will handle institutional volume as adoption deepens.
EDX’s $76 million raise fits squarely in that category. The fact that SBI committed as the sole investor — writing the entire check — rather than leading a syndicate suggests high conviction. It also means EDX avoids the governance complexity of a multi-investor round at a critical growth stage, giving management more focused alignment with a single strategic partner who brings operational value, not just capital.
The combination of a bank-grade trust charter application, a stablecoin-integrated settlement system, a crypto-as-a-service product, and a well-capitalized Japanese financial group behind it positions EDX to compete directly for the institutional mandates that have so far remained just out of reach for most crypto-native platforms. Whether the OCC filing converts into a full charter — and how quickly the Ripple Prime and RLUSD settlement framework goes live at scale — will determine how much of that potential actually materializes.
FAQ
What is the purpose of EDX Markets’ recent $76 million Series C funding?
The funding will support expansion of trading, clearing, and settlement services, accelerate product development, and help scale EDX Markets’ global operations.
Who led the Series C funding round for EDX Markets?
SBI Holdings led the $76 million Series C funding round for EDX Markets and was the sole investor in the equity round.
What new products and integrations has EDX Markets launched recently?
EDX Markets integrated with Ripple Prime in May to provide unified access to spot and perpetual futures liquidity, with RLUSD earmarked for settlement and collateral roles. EDX also launched EDX FlowConnect, a crypto-as-a-service product enabling firms to offer digital asset trading to their own customers.
What regulatory steps is EDX Markets taking to support institutional crypto trading?
EDX Markets filed with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank designed to provide regulated digital asset custody, clearing, settlement, and risk management services.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
