What happened
Architect Financial Technologies has completed a $35 million Series A financing round to accelerate the development and scaling of AX, its newly launched centralized trading venue for perpetual futures tied to traditional asset classes. The investment round was led by Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital, with participation from a consortium of major financial and trading firms, and continued backing from early investors including Coinbase Ventures.
Who is affected
Institutional market participants, such as hedge funds, market makers, asset managers, family offices, and insurance firms, are the primary audience for AX, which offers perpetual contracts across currencies, interest rates, equities, indices, metals, and other commodities. The exchange is operated through Architect’s Bermuda-based affiliate under oversight from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Why CISOs should care
While this development is primarily financial, CISOs should be aware that the growth of regulated digital trading infrastructure like AX underscores expanding intersections between financial markets and technology systems that require robust cybersecurity. New exchange platforms handling high‑value transactions present potential risk vectors, including market data integrity, infrastructure availability, and secure API connectivity, that must be addressed as part of institutional operational risk and third‑party vendor oversight.
3 practical actions:
- Review third‑party risk profiles of key trading platforms your organization uses or plans to integrate, focusing on cybersecurity posture and regulatory compliance.
- Assess secure connectivity and data handling standards for trading APIs and market data feeds, ensuring encryption, authentication, and monitoring controls are robust.
- Coordinate with trading desks and risk teams to understand how new exchange technologies could impact operational resilience and incident response planning.