Crossover Markets has launched CROSSx Disclosed, a new institutional trading model that expands its crypto ECN beyond anonymous execution and into disclosed bilateral liquidity relationships. The setup allows firms to build custom liquidity pools by connecting directly with more than 30 OTC market makers, while keeping centralized post-trade settlement through prime brokerage infrastructure.
The move reflects a clear shift in institutional digital asset trading. Earlier crypto market structure was dominated by vertically integrated exchanges where custody, execution, settlement, and liquidity were bundled together. Banks, hedge funds, trading firms, and liquidity providers now prefer a more modular design, with execution venues, prime brokerage, settlement, and liquidity relationships handled as separate layers.
Direct liquidity relationships with centralized execution support
Through API connectivity, CROSSx Disclosed lets institutions establish direct commercial relationships with liquidity providers and negotiate terms around spreads, market depth, and settlement. Crossover continues to handle execution infrastructure, routing, and post-trade coordination. The platform supports both aggregated and unaggregated pricing streams, giving firms flexibility over how they source liquidity.
Crossover also built in execution tools commonly used in institutional FX and equities markets, including iceberg orders, pegged orders, dark functionality, flash orders, and customizable smart order routing logic. The company said its infrastructure delivers single-digit microsecond matching speeds and can process one million orders per second.
The platform currently supports about 200 trading symbols. Connectivity is available through FIX API, REST interfaces, and graphical user interfaces, with deployment across Equinix LD4, NY4, and AWS Tokyo.
Prime brokerage settlement moves closer to the center
A key part of the launch is support for net settlement through Ripple Prime and BitGo Prime. That gives institutions a way to maintain direct market maker relationships while centralizing settlement and collateral management, instead of spreading capital and operational processes across multiple counterparties.
In a market that remains fragmented across exchanges, OTC desks, and liquidity venues, centralized settlement can reduce operational complexity and balance sheet inefficiencies. Michael Higgins, International Chief Executive Officer of Ripple Prime, said the integration gives institutions operational flexibility and capital efficiency without increasing counterparty risk exposure.
Disclosed trading draws support from major market makers
Liquidity providers and market makers participating in the model include B2C2, Flow Traders, Virtu Financial, Da Vinci Trading, and Stelaxis. For market makers, disclosed trading offers a clearer view of counterparties and allows more tailored pricing relationships, inventory management, and risk controls.
That matters in crypto, where liquidity conditions can differ sharply by venue and participant type. Crossover Markets Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Brandon Mulvihill said institutional demand is increasingly focused on low-latency systems that can connect participants efficiently across the broader liquidity ecosystem.
The launch points to a wider structural shift in digital asset markets. ECNs, direct liquidity relationships, prime brokerage, and centralized settlement are taking a larger role as institutional trading infrastructure starts to resemble traditional FX and electronic market models more closely than the exchange-led crypto frameworks that defined the sector’s earlier phase.