Matrix Exchange Ltd. announced today it has received a license known as Financial Services Permission (FSP), to operate a regulated virtual asset Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and custody platform that will serve customers from around the globe.
The FSP issued by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in the United Arab Emirates, allows Matrix Exchange Ltd. to serve retail customers, trading firms, and institutions from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, among others.
Matrix Exchange will provide customers with a trading platform purpose-built for virtual assets, and with secured and insured cold storage services. Matrix Exchange initial products will consist of BTC, BCH, LTE, and ETH, all paired with USD. With a 40+ person technical, operational, and regulatory team already in place, Matrix Exchange is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2020.
“Abu Dhabi’s history as a global trading hub makes it an ideal location for a regulated, licensed virtual asset MTF that enables us to serve markets from around the world. With a license from the forward-looking FSRA, Matrix Exchange Ltd. is poised to fulfill a current white space and meet the demand from markets that until now have been limited to unregulated regional exchanges,” said James Wo, Chair of Matrix Exchange Ltd. and Founder of Digital Financial Group.
With its license, Matrix Exchange dissolves regional barriers and gives retail and institutional customers from around the world access to one regulated platform. This will create an accessible and more efficient market and overcome common challenges faced by the industry. Notably, Matrix Exchange Ltd. will allow customers to convert fiat to virtual assets and settle trades in USD, an attribute that is extremely rare among virtual asset trading venues. The Matrix Exchange fiat channel eliminates friction and makes investments and trading available to millions of customers, maximizing adoption, and propelling growth.
Matrix Exchange Ltd. will meet growing demand in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Region, a market-ready for virtual assets investment, and provide key infrastructure for growth. The GCC leads the Middle East in internet access and adoption of digital payments and has seen a 400% increase in alternative finance investments from 2013-2016, according to Global Findex. With an initial investment from Digital Finance Group, a leading blockchain and virtual asset investment firm, Matrix Exchange aims to be a leader in the growth of global virtual asset trading.