Please tell us a little about how CROSSx works and the key features and functionality it offers.
CROSSx is the first execution only trading venue in the digital asset market, purpose built for institutional spot cryptocurrency trading. Backed by industry leaders Tradeweb, DRW Venture Capital, XTX Markets, and Pepperstone, among others, the platform operates exclusively for execution, without custody, brokerage, or balance sheet intermediation, and runs 24/7/365.
CROSSx matches approximately 99% of trades in single digit microseconds, processing up to one million orders per second, and can extend upwards of 16 decimal places. Its matching and routing infrastructure use real-time analytics to evaluate liquidity provider behavior based on fill ratios, response times, and market impact to optimize execution quality while preserving neutrality.
Post trade, CROSSx integrates directly with prime brokers Ripple Prime (formerly Hidden Road) and BitGo Prime, allowing participants to net and settle activity while maintaining independent credit, margin and liquidity relationships.
Who are your core target client segments?
CROSSx serves three main client segments: 1) it primarily serves traditional retail brokers by offering spot or cash settled crypto products, 2) market-making institutions who are in need of price discovery and risk transfer, and 3) buy side firms deploying quantitative and systematic strategies. These participants share a need for low latency execution, minimal market impact, and clear separation of duties (between execution, custody, and credit).
What significant advantages does your platform have over the Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) model prevalent in crypto today?
The CLOB model places all participants into a single liquidity pool, creating a structural conflict of interest where liquidity providers with better, faster technology compete directly against retail users. As a result, during market stress, institutional providers exit first through automation, while retail participants are left to absorb the impact, because the CLOB model does not distinguish between established liquidity providers and the ‘average’ consumer.
No other major financial market operates this way. FX and equities alike enforce structural separation between liquidity providers and retail clients, protecting the latter’s ability to execute, and preventing market makers from trading against the flows they price. CROSSx adopts this same separation, eliminating captive liquidity dynamics and aligning incentives around pricing quality and stability.
In what ways does decoupling execution from custody and brokerage change the risk profile and operational setup for institutional clients using CROSSx?
As demonstrated repeatedly in the market, and most notably on October 10, 2025, marrying credit and trading within a single platform can be catastrophic when that platform experiences an outage. In such situations, participants are immediately unable to manage or hedge risk, which gives way to an outcome that established Wall Street institutions cannot tolerate. CROSSx was designed for a maturing market that increasingly demands separation of duties.
As an execution only venue, CROSSx allows clients to maintain independent relationships with prime brokers and custodians, ensuring continuous risk management regardless of platform conditions. This model aligns with longstanding best practices in traditional financial markets. Moreover, the model is underscored by Crossover’s recent Series B fundraise led by Tradeweb, which includes a distribution agreement to deliver CROSSx spot liquidity to Tradeweb’s global institutional client base.
What sort of speeds is your matching engine able to deliver and what does realized performance look like in production and at peak loads?
CROSSx delivers ultra-low latency performance. Order to acknowledgment latency averages approximately five microseconds, order matching occurs around 1.5 microseconds, and quote to feed dissemination is approximately 8.5 microseconds.
What smart order routing logic do you provide (or integrate with) for clients that trade across multiple venues, and how does CROSSx prioritize fill quality versus speed and fees?
Our order routing logic is fully proprietary. Liquidity is ranked and routed in real-time based on behavioral metrics such as fill ratios, response times and market impact. Liquidity providers that respond slowly or inconsistently are automatically lowered in the execution stack, prioritizing realized execution quality and reliability over nominal pricing or fees.
In what ways does your operating model position you for success in all market conditions?
CROSSx is not a counterparty to trades and does not hold client assets, meaning clients are never captive. Liquidity providers must continuously compete on price, responsiveness, and execution quality. Unlike captive exchange models, CROSSx enforces market discipline – if execution quality declines, clients are free to trade elsewhere, ensuring alignment between technology sophistication and operating integrity.
How do your fee levels and structure compare with major crypto exchanges and OTC venues for both makers and takers, and where do you see the biggest cost savings for clients?
Our mission is entirely focused on reducing total trading costs. By operating as execution only, clients lower their cost of capital by maintaining credit through prime brokers rather than prefunding exchange balances. Our execution fees are typically 60-90% lower than other institutional crypto venues.
The largest savings, however, come from reduced market impact and minimal information leakage. Trades on CROSSx are anonymous, minimizing signaling risk and allowing clients to manage risk more efficiently, particularly during volatile conditions.
Looking ahead over the next year or so, what plans do you have for integrating and using next generation technology, providing additional asset coverage and increasing the global footprint of the firm?
We will continue to leverage the best practices from equities and FX into the digital asset market, with a focus on next generation execution technology, real time analytics, and institutional market structure standards in a 24/7, 365 trading environment. This is reinforced by CROSSx’s partnership with Tradeweb, the leading electronic marketplace in global fixed income, whose institutional client base and market structure expertise help guide the platform’s evolution.