(Bloomberg) – Arcam Intelligence, a blockchain data company backed by investors including OpenAI founder Sam Altman, plans to launch a crypto derivatives exchange next month, according to people familiar with the effort. .
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg
The startup is moving operations from London and New York to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where the company and its new location will be based, said the person, who requested anonymity because plans have not yet been made public. He said he did. Arkham token, a cryptocurrency known as ARKM with a market capitalization of about $344 million, rose 19% to $1.52 on the news.
Founded in 2020, Arcam currently operates a platform that analyzes blockchain data to provide information about the organizations and individuals behind crypto market activity. The company's investors include Bedrock, Draper Associates, Binance Labs, and Altman, according to Pitchbook data.
The exchange will target retail investors and aim to compete with platforms such as Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, the people said. The new venue will not be open to U.S. investors, the person said. Arkham intends to operate the platform with a Dominican Republic Free Trade Zone license, which is currently in the process of being obtained, the people added. FTZs in the Dominican Republic offer tax exemptions and other financial incentives.
A spokesperson for Arkham declined to comment via email.
By launching a derivatives platform, Arcam is seeking to capture a lucrative slice of the crypto market, which has undergone major changes since a series of regulatory actions against Binance and the high-profile collapse of former competitor FTX. Cryptocurrency derivatives trading is still dominated by Binance, but its market share has fallen to its lowest point in four years. Other major exchanges include Bybit and OKX.
Binance’s crypto market share drops to lowest in 4 years
According to CCData, derivatives trading activity on centralized exchanges reached $3.07 trillion in September, accounting for about 71% of the total trading volume of cryptocurrencies.
Arcam has been building technology for the exchange in-house for the past year and is in talks with investors in the Middle East to raise up to $100 million to expand the business, the people said. The company's data platform is largely free to access and has about 880,000 monthly active users, which it hopes will give the exchange an advantage in customer acquisition, the people said.
The company recently signed a two-season sponsorship deal with Turkish soccer team Galatasaray in July to promote its brand to consumers. The deal will see the club spend 1.8 million euros ($2 million) per season on arrangements for logos on players' shirt sleeves.
(Updates the second graph of token prices on news.)
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg LP
