EDX's $76M SBI Round: A Bridge to US Institutional Crypto

EDX Markets, the institutional crypto trading platform backed by Wall Street's largest market makers, raised $76 million in Series C funding from Japan's SBI Holdings. The deal closed July 7.

EDX does not operate like a retail exchange. It clears trades and settles them through a central counterparty, the kind of infrastructure institutions demand before committing balance sheet. In early 2026, the firm launched FlowConnect, a crypto-as-a-service product that lets banks and brokerages offer digital asset trading without building their own systems from scratch.

The capital will fund those products and the company's application for a national trust bank charter. That charter, if granted, would place EDX under federal banking supervision. For compliance-heavy institutions, that regulatory seal matters more than any technology feature.

SBI Holdings has been assembling a digital asset ecosystem inside Japan, including stablecoin projects. Its investment gives EDX a strategic link to the Japanese institutional market, where crypto regulation is more developed than in the US.

EDX's existing shareholders include Charles Schwab SCHW stock page, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Virtu Financial. Crypto venture firms Paradigm and Sequoia Capital also hold stakes. Pantera Capital, which led the prior round in 2024, is another backer. The participation of big-name market makers signals the platform meets the standards those firms require, EDX said in a release.

The national trust bank charter is the next big catalyst. If approved, it would unlock access for a wave of institutional clients that currently steer clear of unregulated crypto exchanges. The application remains under review. A decision could come before year-end.