US Futures Exchange Turns to Crypto Trading, Finds Support Among Trading Giants

ErisX, a crypto exchange has completed a Series B funding round with support from leading firms including Bitmain, ConsenSys, Fidelity Investments, Nasdaq Ventures, and Monex Group.

ErisX Will Operate as Crypto Futures Exchange, Clearing Organization, and Spot Market

The crypto trading platform, with a pending license as a clearing organization with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), had already found support from big names such as DRW Venture Capital, TD Ameritrade (AMTD), Virtu Financial, NEX Opportunities, Cboe Global Markets, Digital Currency Group, and Pantera Capital.

The funding will help the company accelerate the development of the intermediary-friendly, CFTC-regulated futures exchange (registered) and clearing organization (registration pending). ErisX will also operate as a spot market for digital assets.

Thomas Chippas, CEO, said he plans to use the funds to expand the team and build the platform, according to a press release.

“With increasing financial support from leading-edge firms, ErisX stands to provide the most robust, secure and regulated digital asset offering available to both institutional and individual participants. Closing this second round of funding enables us to continue building our modern platform and expand our team,” he added.

Led by trading industry experts such as head of clearing Liz James, former executive at State Street, Barclays, Chase and Bank of England (BoE), ErisX has much to gain with the addition of big crypto industry names to its capital. Investors, too, stand to benefit from the partnership, according to Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu.

“Many of our customers have been seeking various hedging solutions and would be happy to see U.S. regulatory compliant exchanges like ErisX provide spot and futures’ contracts in one platform. We are confident that our customers will find this strategic partnership beneficial,” Wu said.

The new cryptocurrency exchange shows what is ahead for the cryptocurrency ecosystem as more operators and other services providers will look into registering with the CFTC in order to ensure transparency and credibility to the trading markets.

ErisX is a U.S.-based futures exchange offering cash-settled swap futures as the leading alternative to traditional OTC swaps. The cryptocurrency venture opens the door to new opportunities for the trading industry, said Joseph Lubin, ConsenSys chief executive officer.

“The formation of ErisX is an important step in continuing the convergence of digital and traditional asset classes in global institutional financial services. We are excited to invest and to be working with the extremely credible team. We look forward to seeing ErisX drive significant growth in institutional flows in both spot and futures digital asset markets in 2019,” he said.

Related Reading: Nasdaq Reportedly Eyeing Bitcoin Futures Launch in Early 2019

ErisX is expected to launch as the first regulated U.S.-based futures market for Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. Major financial institutions have been seen supporting the cryptocurrency sector with investments in BitGo Custody, Bakkt, Coinbase Custody, Seba.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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