Crypto Exchange Backed by Institutional Banks Launched

Wall Street firms, including Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities, have backed a new institutional crypto exchange platform, known as EDX Markets.

Just days after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued two of the world's largest crypto exchange platforms, Binance and Coinbase, EDX Markets was launched, earning praise from many in the crypto community.

Described as a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange platform, EDX Markets is different from normal cryptocurrency exchanges as it does not directly provide services to retail investors, instead concentrating on institutional traders.

The exchange uses an application programming interface (API), an app that establishes an online connection between a data provider and an end-user and does not provide a front-end trading or trading graphical user interface.

The announcement came soon after reports that Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank AG, had applied for a crypto license with the country's regulator.

This comes after the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, filed an application with the SEC to register a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

This show of support for the crypto industry by large traditional finance players underlines the long-term institutional interest in crypto, despite the collapse of Terra last May and the scandal created by the collapse of FTX.

Bitcoin exploded on the news of EDX Markets' launch, gaining 7.73% and trading in the green zone at $28,840.78, with a 24-hour trading volume up by 78.49% at $26 billion.