Citadel and Fidelity just made their clearest move yet to rebuild crypto like Wall Street
EDX Markets’ bid for a federal trust bank charter is not just another crypto expansion story. It is a live test of whether Wall Street-backed firms can move more of crypto’s custody and settlement stack inside the U.S. banking perimeter. Citadel, Fidelity, and Schwab-backed EDX wants to bring equity
EDX Markets, the crypto trading platform backed by Wall Street giants Citadel, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab, has applied for a federal trust bank charter. The move represents the most significant attempt yet by traditional finance powerhouses to bring institutional-grade infrastructure to cryptocurrency trading and custody operations within the U.S. regulatory framework.
The application marks a pivotal test case for whether established financial institutions can successfully migrate crypto's custody and settlement systems inside the traditional banking perimeter. EDX Markets aims to apply equity market structure principles to cryptocurrency trading, leveraging the regulatory expertise and institutional credibility of its Wall Street backers to create a more traditional finance-like environment for digital assets.
This development signals a broader trend of traditional finance firms seeking to institutionalize crypto infrastructure rather than adapt to existing decentralized systems. If approved, the federal trust bank charter would allow EDX to offer banking services directly, potentially streamlining custody solutions and settlement processes for institutional crypto traders while operating under established banking regulations.
The approval process for federal trust bank charters typically involves extensive regulatory review, with the outcome likely to influence how other Wall Street firms approach crypto infrastructure development. Market participants will be monitoring regulatory responses closely, as approval could accelerate similar applications from other traditional finance companies seeking to establish crypto banking services.
Source: CryptoSlate
