Arkham Intelligence Expands Beyond Data, Plans to Launch a Crypto Derivatives Exchange Next Month

Established in 2020, Arkham revealed some big names in trading, including presidential candidate Donald Trump. The major investors in this on-chain detective

Blockchain data firm Arkham Intelligence Inc. is planning to launch a crypto derivatives exchange next month, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move comes as interest in derivatives trading has surged in the digital-asset market, with Binance suffering a decline in market share following a wave of legal actions.

Arkham, which counts OpenAI founder Sam Altman among its early backers, is looking to capitalize on the opportunity with its own exchange, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

The company, which had already been building the infrastructure for the exchange for more than a year, is now seeking a $100 million sponsorship in the Middle East, according to the people.

Arkham’s native token, ARKM, has surged as much as 68% this year amid the interest in the exchange. The token, which hit a three-month high on Monday, is now trading up 2.2% at $1.77.

Arkham, founded in 2020, is known for its on-chain data analytics platform, which has become a valuable tool for traders, journalists and regulators seeking to uncover hidden flows of funds in the crypto market.

The company’s technology, which is used by over 880,000 crypto market participants, has helped identify large crypto investors, unbranded wallets and owners of various decentralized finance projects.

Arkham’s role in tracking the movement of crypto funds has earned it a place among ZachXBT’s “justice weapons” — a collection of on-chain sleuthing tools that have been used to uncover scams and illicit activity in the crypto realm.

The company, which offered bounties for significant information on large crypto investors, has also assisted in uncovering the identities of several crypto whales, including presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Major investors in the on-chain detective setup include Bedrock, Draper Associates, Binance Labs and OpenAI founder Samuel Altman, among others.

Arkham is also planning to move its headquarters from London and New York to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, according to the people. The company has been granted a Dominican free-trade zone license, which will be pivotal for its upcoming plans, the people said.

The move comes as several crypto companies, including Binance, FTX and eToro, have shifted their operations to the Dominican Republic to take advantage of the country’s favorable tax policies and crypto-friendly environment.

The Dominican government has been actively courting blockchain and Web3 companies, offering them special licenses and tax breaks to set up shop in the country.

In recent months, the Dominican Republic has granted several free-trade zone licenses to crypto exchanges, including Binance, Huobi and Bybit. The licenses allow the exchanges to operate in the country without paying any taxes on their profits.

The government has also set up a special crypto task force to help the exchanges with their operations and to ensure that they are complying with all of the relevant laws and regulations.