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FalconX has announced the launch of an AI-powered platform designed to help institutional investors make faster, sharper decisions.
Going by the name of Focal, the AI platform is said to do the work of a team of analysts, delivering real-time insights in a way that traditional dashboards and manual research can’t match.
“Validate investment theses more rapidly in real-time”
Charlie Sandor, Investor at CMT Digital, said: “Focal significantly enhances the speed, precision, and efficiency of our research process. It enables us to validate investment theses more rapidly in real-time, monitor our portfolio with greater accuracy, and stay ahead of evolving market narratives. In essence, Focal functions as an extension of our team, delivering continuous insights that drive better investment decisions.”
The goal in mind was to provide investors with a virtual army of analysts just like the industry’s biggest players, which would sift through the noise and deliver critical intelligence.
Focal integrates data sources like Token Terminal, The Tie, Kaito, Tokenomist, CoinGecko, and even proprietary datasets in order to help investors uncover opportunities, evaluate risks, and act with conviction.
FalconX to Acquire Arbelos
FalconX recently announced it agreed to acquire derivatives platform Arbelos Markets in a deal expected to involve a combination of cash and FalconX stock. The crypto prime brokerage and trading firm previously participated in an Arbelos funding round led by Dragonfly Capital, with capital from Circle Ventures, Deribit, Paxos, and StarkWare. The round raised $28 million in May.
Founded in 2023 by Joshua Lim and Shiliang Tang, Arbelos is a principal liquidity provider in crypto derivatives markets, offering liquidity across centralized and decentralized finance venues, specializing in over-the-counter (OTC) trading, exchange liquidity, and bespoke hedging solutions.
The company’s proprietary Transparency Engine provides real-time visibility into its risk profile, balance sheet, and counterparty exposures, promoting trust and transparency in the crypto market. Within its first six months, Arbelos achieved over $25 billion in derivatives trading volume across bilateral, on-exchange, and on-chain channels.
Arbelos Markets’ services include:
- OTC Trading: Pricing, execution, and warehousing of OTC structures, including vanilla and exotic options, forwards, and custom hedges.
- Exchange Liquidity: Providing two-way liquidity and depth across multiple exchanges for listed spot, options, and futures contracts.
- Advisory Services: Offering bespoke hedging and yield solutions for crypto foundations, projects, and companies.
The founders bring extensive experience from traditional finance and cryptocurrency markets, with backgrounds at institutions such as Galaxy Digital, Genesis Global Trading, and LedgerPrime. Arbelos Markets is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands.
In June 2022, FalconX completed a $150 million Series D funding round led by GIC and B Capital, elevating its valuation to $8 billion. This funding aimed to enhance the company’s technology, data analytics, and service expansion. In January 2024, FalconX executed over 30% of all Bitcoin creation transactions for ETF issuers on the first day of trading, handling more than $230 million of the market’s $720 million day-one ETF creations. In October 2024, FalconX introduced an auto-liquidation service for crypto miners, enabling automatic conversion of mining rewards into USD. This service aims to improve liquidity and operational efficiency for mining operations.
