外匯新創 XFX 融資 1700 萬，Castle Island Ventures 領投

Crypto technology startup XFX announced on March 26 that it has completed a $17 million Series A funding round, led by crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Haun Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. XFX aims to build foreign exchange infrastructure capable of high-speed matching for both fiat and stablecoin trading parties.

From Bitso’s Shared Pain Points to XFX’s Startup Starting Point

XFX’s three co-founders—CEO Santiago Alvarado, CTO Jason Losh, and founder with a financial background Alberto Sánchez Tello—met while working at Latin America’s crypto exchange Bitso, where they jointly identified key efficiency bottlenecks in the stablecoin-to-fiat exchange process.

Alvarado was originally a civil engineer before transitioning into fintech founder; Losh is a seasoned developer who led a team of 300 engineers at Bitso; Sánchez Tello has a traditional finance background, having worked at Deutsche Bank, UBS, and BlackRock.

Together at Bitso, they realized a harsh reality: while cryptocurrency transactions can be completed in seconds, converting stablecoins to Latin American fiat currencies like the Mexican peso often requires days at the banking settlement level. This “structural gap between digital speed and traditional financial timing” became the core entrepreneurial challenge for XFX.

XFX’s Solution: Deep Liquidity Priority, Quantitative Engine to Maximize Capital Efficiency

XFX developed a foreign exchange matching system that Alvarado calls an “engine,” with the core design goal of “handling the largest transaction volume with the least capital,” enabling buyers and sellers to match more precisely and efficiently.

The supported currencies currently include:

Stablecoins: Support for real-time exchange between multiple mainstream stablecoins

Fiat currencies: US dollar (USD), Mexican peso (MXN), and Colombian peso (COP)

Market expansion strategy: Prioritize depth over breadth, first establishing deep liquidity for specific currency pairs to ensure individual trades do not significantly impact market prices, then gradually expanding to more currencies

Haun Ventures partner Chris Ahn said, “They are building foreign exchange and payment infrastructure that matches the speed of stablecoins.” With new funding in place, XFX plans to expand its quantitative analyst recruitment and deepen cooperation with trading platforms and banks.

Industry Background: Capital-Intensive Influx in Stablecoin Sector

This funding round coincides with a capital-intensive period for the stablecoin and fiat bridging sector. Over the past year, stablecoin-related startups like Zerohash, Rain, and KAST have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital. Notably, last week, payments giant Mastercard announced a deal to acquire London-based stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, marking the largest acquisition in the stablecoin field to date and providing a strong market benchmark for the sector’s valuation. XFX’s ability to complete a Series A round within less than a year of founding and secure lead investment from Castle Island Ventures is seen by industry insiders as a significant endorsement of its foreign exchange matching technology route.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is XFX’s core problem awareness?

XFX targets the gap between the instant trading speed of stablecoins and the delayed settlement of traditional bank clearing for fiat currencies—cryptocurrencies can be transacted in seconds, but converting stablecoins to Mexican pesos or other fiat currencies often takes days. XFX aims to narrow this time and efficiency gap through its forex matching engine and deep liquidity design.

Which currency pairs does XFX currently support?

XFX currently supports exchanges between various mainstream stablecoins, as well as three fiat currencies: USD, MXN, and COP. The company adopts a deep liquidity-first strategy, establishing sufficient liquidity for existing currency pairs before expanding into more markets.

Who participated in XFX’s Series A funding?

The $17 million Series A round was led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Haun Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. Both firms had previously co-invested in XFX’s $9 million seed round, demonstrating ongoing confidence in its long-term development path.