Electronic trading firm Tradeweb has led a $31 million Series B funding round in institutional crypto trading platform Crossover Markets, valuing the company at roughly $200 million. The round included DRW Venture Capital, Ripple, Virtu Financial, Wintermute Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and XTX Markets.
Strategic Partnership Bridges Traditional Institutions to Crypto
The deal includes a strategic partnership linking Tradeweb's institutional client network with digital asset markets. Under the arrangement, Tradeweb clients can access spot cryptocurrency liquidity through CROSSx, Crossover Markets' electronic communication network (ECN) built for institutional trading. This marks Tradeweb's first direct connection to institutional crypto trading infrastructure. By hooking its global trading network to CROSSx, the firm lets clients trade crypto liquidity alongside other asset classes on electronic venues. Crossover said it will use the fresh capital to expand CROSSx's capabilities and broaden participation across its institutional trading network.
CROSSx Network Scale and Milestones
Crossover Markets launched CROSSx in 2023 as an ECN for institutional crypto trading. The platform connects market makers, trading firms, and institutional investors in a structure designed to cut slippage and improve execution quality. Since launch, CROSSx has processed over $50 billion in notional trading volume across roughly 12 million trades. The platform now supports close to 100 market participants, per the company. ECNs are widely used in traditional finance to match institutional buyers and sellers without routing orders through public exchanges. Applying a similar model to digital assets mirrors growing demand among institutional traders for execution resembling established market infrastructure.
Venture Capital Returns to Crypto Infrastructure
The raise comes during a broader rebound in venture funding for crypto startups. Investors deployed over $20 billion across roughly 1,660 deals in 2025, the largest annual total since 2022, according to Galaxy research. Trading platforms, exchanges, and infrastructure providers grabbed the biggest share. Much of that money went into companies building the underlying systems for digital asset trading and settlement rather than consumer apps. Institutional trading tech, custody platforms, and payment networks have been among the most active areas. For investors, infrastructure firms offer exposure to market-wide trading activity instead of betting on a single asset or exchange. As institutional participation grows, demand for trading connectivity, execution tools, and settlement systems remains a central theme in venture-backed crypto development.
Other Infrastructure Fundraising Rounds
Several digital asset infrastructure firms raised fresh capital in early 2026. Talos secured a $45 million extension to its Series B, valuing the New York firm at roughly $1.5 billion. Mesh raised $75 million in a Series C led by Dragonfly Capital, reaching a $1 billion valuation; part of the funding used stablecoins. Rain raised $250 million in a Series C led by Iconiq, valuing it at $1.95 billion. VelaFi raised $20 million in a Series B led by XVC and Ikuyo to expand in Latin America, the U.S., and Asia. Together, these deals illustrate venture capital concentrating on the trading and payments backbone of the crypto market as institutions continue to explore digital asset participation.