EDX Markets Wants In on the Trust Fund Kids Club, Files for National Trust Bank Charter

EDX Markets, the crypto exchange bankrolled by Citadel Securities, is making its power move for full institutional legitimacy by applying for a national trust bank charter. The exchange submitted its filing to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday, according to documents reviewed by CoinDesk. Nothing says "we're totally safe, Mom and Dad" quite like a regulatory approval from the OCC.

This comes roughly three and a half years after the firm first launched—if you don't count the time it spent perfecting its application PowerPoint. If regulators give the green light, EDX would gain the ability to offer custody, asset management, and principal trading services—all while keeping its order-matching platform humming along like a well-behaved fintech child.

The filing outlines a setup where custody and settlement live inside a regulated trust entity, completely separate from trading operations. Revolutionary concept, we know—keeping other people's money away from your own risky bets. Smart, considering FTX taught everyone a thing or two about commingling gone wrong. Who knew that separating stuff might actually be... a good idea?

EDX Markets is squarely aimed at traditional finance firms looking to dip their toes into digital assets. The roster of supporters reads like a who's who of TradFi royalty: Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab Corp, and good old Citadel Securities. It's basically the Avengers, but for spreadsheets and compliance departments.

The platform launched in summer 2023 with four cryptocurrencies—bitcoin, ether (ETH), and bitcoin cash (BCH)—and has since expanded to