Arkham Intelligence is gearing up to launch its own crypto derivatives exchange next month, as reported by Bloomberg News on October 11. This announcement has sparked a notable 12% increase in the value of its native token, ARKM, which has been on the rise alongside the broader market recovery. Currently, ARKM is trading at $1.51, reflecting a 16% gain in just 24 hours.
The new exchange will be based in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as Arkham plans to move its headquarters from London and New York. The company is working on obtaining a free-trade zone license in the Dominican Republic, which would offer advantageous tax benefits. While the exchange will cater primarily to retail investors, it will not be available to customers in the United States.
Arkham has been laying the groundwork for this exchange over the past year, aiming to compete with established platforms like Binance, Bybit, and OKX. To support its expansion, the company is seeking up to $100 million in funding from investors in the Middle East.
Notably, Arkham has garnered backing from prominent venture capital firms, including Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group, as well as high-profile investors like Peter Thiel, Tim Draper, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who participated in a recent $12 million funding round.
With the crypto derivatives market booming, Arkham’s entry comes at a time when futures and options trading has surged in popularity. In September alone, centralized platforms processed nearly $3.5 trillion in crypto perpetuals, significantly outpacing the trading volumes of decentralized exchanges and the overall spot market.
