Fintech company 24 Exchange Broker Limited has been licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to begin operating as a digital asset service vendor.

The company is a new affiliate of Bermudian-based 24 Exchange, which said the licence further cemented the 24 Exchange platform at the forefront of seamless exchange trading across a broad range of FX (foreign exchange) and crypto assets.

24 Exchange Broker Ltd received a "Class T" Digital Asset Business Act licence on February 8 and started operating a central dealer function for the crypto currency market.

24 Exchange Bermuda Ltd was granted a "Class T" crypto currency DABA licence from the BMA last July, and completed its first spot crypto currency bilateral trade in September.

That company’s licence, renewed last month, is valid through January 2023.

24 Exchange said its trading platform facilitated a central dealer function for the spot crypto currency market, provided greater autonomy for traders and had the potential to significantly accelerate institutional clients' adoption of crypto currency products.

Institutional customers who are on-board 24 Exchange Broker Ltd as a single counterparty are able to access a deep anonymous liquidity crypto spot pool instead of having to on-board each counterparty individually, the company said.

Dmitri Galinov, 24 Exchange CEO and founder, said: "This BMA licence for 24 Exchange Broker Ltd enables us to bring spot crypto currency trading on to our institutional-grade platform, making it more available, accessible and standardised.

“We are pleased to continue to drive the institutional adoption of crypto products trading at the best available rates and with around-the-clock availability.”

He added: “Our company truly appreciates the efficient work of the Bermuda Government's Office of FinTech and the Bermuda Business Development Agency – as well as their dedication to supporting the growth of the digital asset sector in Bermuda."

24 Exchange said it had fully integrated its broker trading platform with digital service providers Zero Hash and Fireblocks to allow for post-trade and custody solutions.

Additionally, it said, 24 Exchange's existing partnerships allowed for greater asset trading; for example, its partnership with Cobalt yielded a solution for wallet and counterparty collateralisation.

With Cobalt, 24 Exchange said, a broker's clients can utilise their own collateral in their wallet infrastructure to enable trading, eliminating the need to deposit funds in advance.

24 Exchange said it had pioneered the trading of NDFs for crypto currencies on its 24/7/365 platform and had established standardised crypto currency NDF contracts.

The company said it had also submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on February 2 a final Form 1 application for a licence to create a new national exchange.

If approved, it said, this new exchange will be the first fully electronic exchange in the United States that allows trading of securities on a 24/7/365 basis.