Arkham Intelligence to launch crypto derivatives exchange: report

Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain data firm, plans to launch a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange next month, Bloomberg reports.

The startup, backed by investors such as OpenAI founder Sam Altman, is moving its operations from London and New York to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The company aims to serve retail investors but will not open the platform to US customers.

Founded in 2020, Arkham specializes in analyzing blockchain data to uncover information about the organizations and individuals behind cryptocurrency transactions.

The decision to launch a derivatives exchange comes as Arkham attempts to capture some of the growing crypto market, particularly in derivatives, which are financial contracts that derive their value from underlying assets such as Bitcoin (BTC).

In July, Arkham Intelligence introduced a feature that allows users to connect their Coinbase Wallets to its platform. This integration allowed users to keep track of their crypto assets while Arkham continued to anonymize blockchain transactions.

What is Arkham Intelligence?

Arkham is a blockchain analysis platform that uses artificial intelligence to anonymize blockchain and on-chain data. It previously consisted of two main components: the Analytics Platform, which provides analysis on a wide range of exchanges, funds and tokens, and the Intel Exchange, which allows users to execute intelligent transactions.

According to Bloomberg, the new derivatives platform will operate under a Dominican Republic free trade zone license, which offers tax and other financial advantages.

Arkham’s focus on derivatives trading aims to compete with major exchanges such as Binance, Bybit and OKX.