Crypto investment and trading platform Omniex has added a couple of regulatory heavyweights to its advisory board in the shape of former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt and ex-FDIC chair Sheila Blair.
Levitt, who served as SEC chair from 1993 to 2001, already has some exposure to the crypto world, acting as an advisor to BitPay and Blockchain, among others. Blair, FDIC chair from 2006 to 2011, is the founding chair of the Systemic Risk Council.
Founded in 2017, Omniex has already raised $10 million for its front-to-back office investment and trading platform for institutional investors looking to access the crypto-asset markets.
The startup has also hired former Thomson Reuters head of capital markets, Maartje Bus, as director of strategic partnerships. Meanwhile, Tom Eidt, former head of KCG’s regulatory affairs, has been appointed chief compliance officer and general counsel.
Says Bair: "Technology like Omniex is designed to address regulators’ concerns about a lack of robust market infrastructure, and will enable institutional investors to manage risk across a wide range of jurisdictions, liquidity sources and crypto-assets."
Adds Levitt: "Institutional investors need purpose-built technology to solve the challenges they face today and equipped to handle the hidden obstacles they’ll encounter tomorrow in this new asset class. Omniex is ahead of the curve and will be the conduit that unifies the current fragmented crypto-ecosystem into a streamlined infrastructure."