Archax

Archax – A Regulated Bridge from Traditional Finance to Digital Assets

High-Level Overview

Archax is not an investment firm, but a London-based financial technology company building a regulated digital asset platform for institutional investors. Its mission is to bridge traditional finance (TradFi) with blockchain-based markets by offering a fully compliant, end-to-end infrastructure for digital securities and crypto assets. Archax operates as a regulated digital securities exchange, broker, and custodian, enabling institutions to issue, trade, and safeguard a broad spectrum of digital assets—from cryptocurrencies to tokenised real-world assets like equities, bonds, and funds.

The company serves professional and institutional clients globally, including asset managers, hedge funds, family offices, and fintechs. It solves the core institutional pain points of regulatory uncertainty, counterparty risk, and fragmented custody and trading infrastructure in the digital asset space. By integrating with existing trading workflows and operating under FCA and other international regulatory frameworks, Archax has gained strong traction as a trusted gateway for mainstream finance to enter digital markets. Its growth is marked by milestones such as being the first FCA-registered crypto exchange and custodian, raising $28.5 million in Series A funding, and launching tokenised prototypes of FTSE 100 shares and UK government bonds.

Origin Story

Archax was founded in April 2018 in London by Graham Rodford, Andrew Flatt, and Matthew Pollard, all of whom bring decades of senior experience from regulated traditional financial institutions. The founders were early observers of how Bitcoin and, more importantly, the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT), were beginning to disrupt financial markets. Rather than viewing crypto as a fringe trend, they saw DLT as a foundational shift that could eventually underpin all financial assets.

The idea for Archax emerged from the recognition that institutional investors were hesitant to engage with digital assets due to lack of regulation, custody solutions, and integration with existing systems. The team set out to build a platform that would feel familiar to traditional finance professionals while unlocking the benefits of blockchain: faster settlement, programmable assets, and 24/7 markets. Early traction included a partnership with Custom House Global Fund Services (now Apex) in 2018 to strengthen AML compliance, and a pivotal moment came in August 2020 when Archax became the first FCA-regulated digital securities exchange, broker, and custodian in the UK. This regulatory first cemented its credibility and positioned it as a pioneer in institutional digital asset infrastructure.

Core Differentiators

• First-Mover Regulatory Status: Archax was the first firm on the FCA’s Cryptoasset Register and the first FCA-regulated digital securities exchange, broker, and custodian in the UK. It has since expanded its regulatory footprint into the EU and added derivatives capabilities, giving it a significant edge in trust and compliance.

• End-to-End Institutional Platform: Archax offers a vertically integrated solution covering issuance, trading, brokerage, and custody of digital assets. This “one-stop shop” model reduces complexity and counterparty risk for institutions compared to using multiple unregulated or fragmented services.

• TradFi-Grade Infrastructure: Built on proven, high-performance exchange technology and hosted in top-tier data centres, Archax integrates seamlessly into existing institutional workflows (e.g., FIX connectivity, portfolio management systems), making adoption smoother for traditional finance players.

• Broad Asset Coverage: The platform supports both unregulated cryptocurrencies and regulated tokenised real-world assets (RWAs), including equities, bonds, and money market funds. This flexibility allows institutions to manage both speculative and core portfolio assets on a single, regulated platform.

• Strategic Partnerships: Archax has formed key alliances with blockchain platforms like Algorand and Hedera, as well as with traditional finance players such as abrdn (which took a stake in 2022), reinforcing its role as a bridge between centralised and decentralised finance.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Archax is riding the convergence of three powerful trends: the institutionalisation of digital assets, the tokenisation of real-world assets (RWAs), and the regulatory maturation of crypto markets. As more traditional financial institutions seek exposure to digital assets but remain constrained by compliance, risk, and operational requirements, Archax’s regulated, TradFi-native platform becomes increasingly valuable.

The timing is critical: with central banks exploring CBDCs, asset managers launching tokenised funds, and regulators like the FCA and EU (via MiCA) establishing clearer frameworks, the infrastructure layer for digital finance is being rebuilt. Archax is positioned at the heart of this transformation, acting as a “rails provider” that enables others—issuers, asset managers, fintechs—to launch and distribute digital securities at scale.

By lowering the barrier to entry for institutions and helping to standardise custody, clearing, and settlement on-chain, Archax is not just a participant in the digital asset ecosystem but a key enabler of its evolution. Its work on tokenised FTSE 100 shares and UK government bonds, for example, could set precedents for how traditional capital markets assets are reimagined in a digital, programmable future.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Archax is well-positioned to become a core piece of institutional digital asset infrastructure in Europe and beyond. As tokenisation of equities, bonds, private credit, and even commodities accelerates, demand for regulated, interoperable platforms will grow—and Archax’s early regulatory wins and institutional focus give it a strong moat.

The next phase will likely involve deeper integration with DeFi and on-chain money market products (as seen with its Stablecoin Yield Service), expansion into new jurisdictions, and potentially white-label or B2B2C offerings for banks and asset managers. The partnership with abrdn also suggests a path toward embedded digital asset services within traditional wealth and asset management platforms.

In a world where “on-chain” is increasingly the default for financial markets, Archax’s vision of fully digital, regulated, and interoperable capital markets is no longer speculative—it’s becoming operational reality. As such, Archax is less a crypto exchange and more a foundational technology company shaping the next generation of financial market infrastructure.