What is Archax? The UK’s First Regulated Digital Securities Exchange

Bridging Traditional Finance and Blockchain

Archax is a global, regulated, digital asset exchange, broker, and custodian based in London. Founded in 2018, it holds the distinction of being the first firm to receive authorization from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate a digital securities exchange.

Designed specifically for institutions, Archax bridges the gap between the blockchain world and traditional investment markets. It allows professional investors to custody and trade a wide range of assets—from cryptocurrencies to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs)—within a framework that satisfies strict regulatory compliance.

Regulatory Status

Archax’s primary competitive advantage is its comprehensive regulatory permissions. It is authorized by the FCA as:

• Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF): Allowing it to operate a trading venue for digital securities.
• Custodian: Permitting it to safeguard both digital assets and client cash.
• Broker: Enabling it to execute trades on behalf of clients.

This “triple-license” structure allows Archax to handle the entire lifecycle of a digital asset trade under one roof, providing the legal certainty that institutional capital requires.

Core Services

Tokenized Money Market Funds

In recent years, Archax has emerged as a leader in the tokenization of Money Market Funds (MMFs). By partnering with major asset managers like abrdn, State Street, and BlackRock, Archax lists tokenized versions of these funds. This allows investors to hold yield-bearing assets on-chain, effectively replacing stablecoins with regulated, income-generating instruments.

Crypto and Digital Securities Trading

The exchange supports trading for a variety of asset classes:

• Cryptocurrencies: Spot trading for major assets like Bitcoin (BTC -0.39%) and Ethereum (ETH -0.6%).
• Digital Securities: Tokenized equity, debt, and fund units that utilize standards such as the ERC-3643 to ensure compliance.

Institutional Custody

Archax provides an institutional-grade custody service that segregates client assets from the firm’s own funds. Their custody solution supports a broad range of assets, including traditional financial instruments and unregulated cryptocurrencies, ensuring they are insolvent-remote.

The Ecosystem

Archax operates as an open ecosystem. While it provides the secondary market (the exchange), it partners with top-tier issuance platforms—such as Tokeny and Securitize—to bring assets to market. Once an asset is tokenized by an issuance partner, it can be listed on Archax for secondary trading, providing liquidity to early investors.

Summary

As the financial industry moves towards “Real World Asset” (RWA) tokenization, venues like Archax are becoming critical infrastructure. By offering a regulated environment for trading everything from Bitcoin to tokenized government treasury funds, Archax is paving the way for the mass institutional adoption of blockchain technology.