Institutional Cryptocurrency Exchange SeedCX Raises $15M Series B

SeedCX, a startup cryptocurrency exchange licensed to offer spot market and CFTC-regulated derivatives, announced that it had closed a $15-million Series B funding round with participation from Bain Capital Ventures and OKCoin, another cryptocurrency exchange.

What Happened

SeedCX raised $15 million in order to expand its trading infrastructure footprint and double its headcount, according to a press release.

Why It Matters

The Chicago-based startup offers institutional traders many of the safeguards and features they are used to, but are not yet industry standard in the cryptocurrency space — such as integration with institutional trade order systems. SeedCX also offers trading security features like trade surveillance, audit trails and circuit breakers.

“The growth of digital assets as an asset class will be based on the adoption of institutional investors and professional traders, who require a trading experience that is on par with that of other instruments, such as equities and commodities,” said Edward Woodford, Seed CX’s co-founder and CEO.

The company also has a settlement arm that offers settlement for digital and fiat assets.

What’s Next

These features, according to SeedCX’s investors, are an important step to legitimizing cryptocurrencies as an institutional trading tool.

“Institutions are seeking regulated, secure, and reliable crypto venues with diverse products that allow them to earn strong returns,” Bain Capital Ventures Managing Director Salil Deshpande said in a press release. “Today, trading venues are retail-focused, limited to spot trading, often unregulated and in foreign jurisdictions. The lack of institutional exchanges is the single largest barrier to crypto asset class growth.”

SeedCX plans to hire and expand its market surveillance and technology teams.

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