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SFOX is an institutional-grade cryptocurrency prime broker that integrates trading execution, custody, compliance, and settlement. It connects multiple liquidity providers and exchanges through a unified platform, enabling institutional clients to access deep liquidity, smart order routing, and flexible settlement.
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About SFOX
SFOX is an institutional crypto prime brokerage that aggregates liquidity from over 30 exchanges, market makers, and OTC desks across 80+ global markets, providing clients with a single account to access deep order books. Its core business includes smart order routing for best execution, SAFE custody services with multi-party governance (not dependent on a single seed phrase or hardware wallet), and settlement infrastructure.
The main market pain point SFOX addresses is fragmented liquidity, which causes slippage and suboptimal execution for large institutional trades. By unifying fragmented markets into one master orderbook, it claims up to 10x deeper liquidity than any single venue, enabling block trades with minimal market impact. Additionally, for institutions, traditional "self-custody" relying on a single seed phrase is a risk profile unacceptable for client capital; SFOX's multi-party governance architecture mitigates this.
In the past six months (Feb-Aug 2026), SFOX completed its first live institutional cross-chain atomic swap between Canton Network and Ethereum using Arqitech's Atomic Swap Protocol, swapping Canton Coin for USDC on mainnet without a central settlement intermediary, reducing principal settlement risk. In July 2026, following the COLDCARD hardware wallet vulnerability that reduced seed entropy from 128 to 40 bits, SFOX publicly clarified that its SAFE custody clients were unaffected, as its architecture does not rely on consumer hardware wallets. No major negative events specific to SFOX were reported during this period, though the COLDCARD incident highlighted broader industry risks around single-device custody.
Founded in 2014, SFOX established itself as a crypto prime dealer. In 2018, it raised $22.7 million in Series A funding led by Tribe Capital and Social Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, and Digital Currency Group, marking a key milestone in institutional adoption.
In 2021, SFOX launched the first trading platform designed specifically for hedge funds, aggregating liquidity from 40+ venues. In 2022, its Singapore entity received a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, a significant regulatory achievement.
In 2024, SFOX Connect was launched as a full-stack crypto API platform, enabling businesses to integrate digital asset capabilities. By 2025, SFOX surpassed $600 billion in cumulative transaction volume, solidifying its position as a leading institutional infrastructure provider.
In the past six months (March–September 2026), SFOX made key strides in institutional crypto infrastructure:
Regulatory milestone: In May 2026, SFOX's Singapore entity obtained a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, covering digital payment token services and cross-border transfers, strengthening its Asia-Pacific compliance foundation.
Market structure data: July data revealed dark pool volume surged from near zero in April to 15% of monthly volume in June, with $147 million in May; OTC desks handled 77.7% of institutional volume, and institutions routed across 14–19 venues monthly. SOL emerged as the third institutional asset class with an 11.7% share.
Product expansion: In May, SFOX listed PAX Gold, its first tokenized real-world asset, and launched Connect Wealth for institutional portfolio management with block trading and fair allocation.
Future focus: Continue aggregating 40+ liquidity venues, advancing smart order routing and dark pool liquidity; expand in Asia-Pacific via the MPI license; deepen tokenized RWAs and regulated custody to drive institutional adoption.
Akbar Thobhani, co-founder and CEO of SFOX. Previously served as Head of Growth & Business Development at Airbnb, managing payments across 190+ countries. With a software engineering background, he worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, earned an MBA from MIT, and was an early Bitcoin miner.
Javier Martinez, current CEO of SFOX. Previously served as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Head of Human Resources. Held legal executive roles at Forte Labs, OANDA, and Boku. Holds a law degree from the University of Chicago, specializing in fintech and blockchain.