Archax, under the leadership of CEO Graham Rodford, is pioneering the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets, positioning itself as a fully regulated digital securities exchange, broker, and custodian. Rodford, whose career spans two decades as COO of a hedge fund, first encountered cryptocurrency in 2013, and over the subsequent years he and his co-founders began to recognize a clear pattern emerging in the digital asset landscape. By 2017–2018, they had identified two critical insights: many crypto offerings bore a strong resemblance to regulated securities, necessitating compliance with existing financial regulations, and blockchain technology presented an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically increase efficiency across financial markets. These observations prompted the team to imagine a world where every asset could eventually exist on-chain, but where the lack of a credible, fully regulated counterparty represented a major obstacle to widespread adoption. Driven by this vision, they set out to create Archax, a platform designed to combine the rigor of traditional finance with the innovation of digital asset technology.
Efficiency Through Blockchain
Rodford’s experience in traditional financial operations profoundly influenced Archax’s founding principles. Having spent years reconciling accounts and transactions between prime brokers and fund administrators, he intimately understood the friction and inefficiency inherent in conventional systems. He realized that a shared, transparent ledger—powered by blockchain—could eliminate much of this friction, streamline settlement processes, and reduce operational risk. “We believed that blockchain could bring real efficiency to the market,” Rodford explains, highlighting how the platform’s architecture was designed from the outset to accommodate a full spectrum of digital assets. From unregulated cryptocurrencies to regulated tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), Archax aims to cover every step of the digital asset lifecycle, including issuance, fundraising, trading, and custody, positioning itself as a comprehensive bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Securing FCA Authorization
Securing regulatory approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2020 was a complex and meticulous process, and it required Archax to educate the regulator as much as to meet the requirements of regulation itself. “The path for traditional regulation was well-defined,” Rodford notes, “but we were proposing something new—handling digital securities and assets in a way that had no precedent. We had to take the regulator on the journey with us.” The process involved engaging multiple teams within the FCA responsible for exchanges, custody, and brokerage, demonstrating how existing regulatory frameworks could apply to these new instruments, and collaboratively identifying where rules needed adjustment to accommodate digital asset innovation. This early, proactive dialogue with the regulator not only enabled Archax to gain the UK’s first full authorization as a digital securities exchange, broker, and custodian but also provided the company with a strategic head start in a market where tokenization is rapidly gaining mainstream attention.
Tokenization and the Rise of On-Chain Cash
Tokenization is rapidly emerging as one of the most transformative trends in modern finance, and Rodford sees tokenized cash as the segment with the most immediate traction. While stablecoins have demonstrated the immense potential of on-chain cash, they generally do not pay interest, limiting their utility as an investment vehicle. Archax is at the forefront of introducing yield-bearing digital cash through tokenized money market funds that maintain a stable value while offering returns. “Stablecoins showed us how powerful cash on-chain could be, but they don’t pay interest,” Rodford explains. “Now we’re entering the next phase, where digital cash can deliver both stability and yield, creating a product that institutional investors can truly leverage.” The company has already processed over half a billion dollars in tokenized equity and debt instruments and is collaborating with banks, asset managers, and market infrastructure providers on more than 30 projects. Rodford believes that in the future, if two assets are identical in nature, the one existing on-chain will inherently be more useful due to its liquidity, transparency, and operational efficiency.
Strategic Acquisitions and Global Expansion
Strategic acquisitions have been central to Archax’s global expansion strategy. In July, the company announced its acquisition of Deutsche Digital Assets (DDA), a Germany-based issuer of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), marking its third major acquisition in recent months. This move significantly strengthens Archax’s regulated footprint across Europe, particularly in Germany and France, which are among the continent’s most active and influential digital asset markets. The acquisition also exemplifies Archax’s philosophy of bridging worlds: by combining traditional assets in digital form with regulated access for institutional investors, the company is making it easier for mainstream capital to enter the digital asset space with confidence and regulatory protection. Additionally, Archax entered the US market through the acquisition of Globacap, achieving full SEC and FINRA registration, reinforcing its position as a regulated leader in the digital asset ecosystem.
Responding to Growing Investor Demand
Rodford highlights the accelerating global appetite for regulated digital exposure as a key driver behind these initiatives. He points to the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, which became the fastest to reach $100 million in assets under management, as a signal that mainstream investors are eager for safe and compliant ways to access digital assets. In response, Archax plans to offer both passive and actively managed ETPs, broadening the avenues through which institutional and retail investors can participate in tokenized markets. The company envisions a future in which tokenized capital markets are fully integrated and operational 24/7, with digital cash serving as the standard medium for buying and settling tokenized assets. According to Rodford, this transformation will occur within the next five years, ultimately creating a financial ecosystem where liquidity, transparency, and accessibility are seamlessly enhanced by blockchain technology.
Building the Future of Digital Markets
Through its pioneering work in regulated tokenization, strategic acquisitions, and innovation in on-chain cash, Archax is actively shaping the next generation of financial markets. By merging the discipline of traditional finance with the efficiency and transparency of blockchain, Rodford and his team are building a vision of the future where financial markets operate fully on-chain, offering investors a secure, regulated, and efficient path to engage with digital assets. The company’s trajectory reflects a broader trend in finance: a gradual but inevitable move towards tokenized, 24/7 markets that promise to transform how capital flows globally, making processes faster, more transparent, and far more accessible than ever before.
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