Cboe says Robinhood and Virtu among potential equity partners in crypto exchange

Several market players, including retail brokers and market makers, are being spoken to by Cboe Global Markets Inc. about acquiring strategic shares in ErisX, the exchange for digital assets it just bought and will rebrand as Cboe Digital.

According to Cboe, the possible equity partners include IG Group-owned tastytrade, Jump Crypto, Virtu Financial, Interactive Brokers, Jane Street, and Robinhood Markets Inc.

The "soon to be formalized" equity partners, which include Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy Digital, NYDIG, and Webull, will support ErisX alongside the anticipated commercial partner companies, according to Chicago-based Cboe.

Cboe Chief Executive Officer Ed Tilly said, "ErisX was formed with the purpose of creating transparent, well-regulated markets for digital assets, and we are thrilled to further accelerate on this ambition with increased support from our partner organizations.

As the foundation of its new Cboe Digital business, Cboe completed the purchase of U.S.-based digital asset spot market operator Eris Digital Holdings (ErisX) in May, which also featured a regulated futures exchange and a regulated clearinghouse.

Due to the collapse in the price of cryptocurrencies, Cboe said last month that it had written down $460 million of its acquisition of ErisX.

On October 20, when the price of bitcoin surpassed $67,000, Cboe declared its plan to buy ErisX. Since then, the value of digital assets has fallen precipitously, with bitcoin presently selling between $20,000 and $25,000.