just now
December 01, 2021 - 24 Exchange announced today that it has raised a $14.25 million funding round led by Point72 Ventures. The investment will support the continued expansion of the company's robust multi-asset trading platform to encompass additional asset classes, including equities and cryptocurrencies. This expansion will bring new trading options to 24 Exchange's growing base of institutional market clients.
24 Exchange recently filed key portions of a Form 1 application in draft form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a license to operate a national securities exchange. Subject to SEC approval, the proposed exchange would operate around the clock, 365 days-a-year, and enable trades in U.S. equities with a minimum increment of one one-thousandth of a share.
In September, 24 Exchange completed its first physical cryptocurrency trade under its "Class T" Digital Asset Business license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Dmitri Galinov, CEO and Founder of 24 Exchange, said, "In the company's first 24 months, we've successfully delivered an over-the-counter FX trading solution to clients that offers significantly reduced costs and improved functionality. We look forward to putting this additional operating capital to work to further expand our offerings beyond FX Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) trading, FX Swaps, FX Spot, and our most recent addition, cryptocurrency trading."
Today, most FX is traded off-exchange, largely because over the counter (OTC) desks can manually facilitate trades 24/7 and offer flexible structures to hedge against potential currency volatility. However, OTC desks lack the central authority, automation, and safety of an exchange, which may expose traders to unnecessary counterparty risk. By offering a central access point for investors to trade and settle FX in a more automated and risk mitigated manner, 24 Exchange combines the positive aspects of OTC markets through its innovative, low-cost platform and centralized trading interface that is always open.
Pete Casella, Partner at Point72 Ventures, added, "We believe that widespread institutional adoption of crypto will require building bridges that enable traditional financial firms to access crypto in a way that looks and feels like how they operate in other tradable assets, such as FX or derivatives. 24 Exchange is doing just that by introducing innovations like the crypto non-deliverable forward contract, which allows institutions to gain exposure to this new asset class without taking on the risk, capital requirements, and regulatory uncertainty associated with carrying the underlying asset on their balance sheet."
