Outside Source
FalconX’s CEO Raghu Yarlagadda said institutional confidence will strengthen with a more healthy, transparent crypto derivatives market in place.
News
Digital asset brokerage FalconX has acquired crypto derivatives platform Arbelos Markets for an undisclosed amount, marking one of the first major crypto acquisition deals of 2025.
The development was confirmed by FalconX’s co-founder and CEO Raghu Yarlagadda in a Jan. 2 X post following a report from Bloomberg about an hour earlier.
While details of the deal weren’t shared, an earlier Dec. 31 report from Bloomberg said the deal was expected to be financed through a combination of FalconX stock and cash, citing people familiar with the matter.
Source: Raghu Yarlagadda
Yarlagadda said FalconX is now better-positioned to create more value for its institutional clients by combining Arbelos’ trading platform with FalconX’s balance sheet and “regulatory readiness.”
Last year saw US spot crypto exchange-traded funds come to market and many institutional clients have since expanded into the crypto derivatives market for capital efficiency, 24/7 trading access and deeper liquidity, Yarlagadda further explained.
“This isn’t just about scaling FalconX—it’s about building the foundation for the next phase of crypto market growth. A healthy, transparent derivatives market is key to long-term institutional confidence.”
Founded in 2018, FalconX claims to be the world’s largest crypto prime brokerage, having executed more than $1.5 trillion worth of trading volume from over 400 tokens for at least 600 institutions.
Arbelos was launched in 2023 by bankers-turned-crypto-traders Joshua Lim and Shiliang Tang.
Lim previously led trading desks at Galaxy Digital and the now-closed Genesis Global Trading, while Tang served as chief investment officer at LedgerPrime (now operating as MNNC Group).
Related: BlackRock eyes BUIDL for derivatives collateral in crypto exchanges
FalconX paid $1.8 million in disgorgement and penalties to the US commodities regulator last May for failing to register as a futures commission merchant.
The settlement required FalconX to cease offering services to US residents.
The crypto brokerage firm has offices in Silicon Valley, New York, London, Hong Kong, Bengaluru, Singapore and Valletta.
Yarlagadda’s firm notably survived the FTX collapse in November 2022, with its assets locked on FTX representing 18% of its “unencumbered” cash equivalents at the time.
Magazine: Proposed change could save Ethereum from L2 ‘roadmap to hell’
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
