Eqonex to close crypto exchange, focus on asset management, custody

Eqonex (NASDAQ:EQOS) said Monday that it will close its cryptocurrency exchange to reduce costs, and will focus on its asset-management and custody businesses from here on out. Shares of EQOS are slipping 3.8% to $0.77 a share in afternoon trading. The exchange, which commenced two years ago, will be shut down on August 22 at 8:00 a.m. UTC (4:00 a.m. ET). Customers will have until September 15 to withdraw their assets into another wallet. The closure of the exchange comes in the wake of heightened market competition, low margins and falling trading volumes, the company said. Moreover, "closing the Exchange will significantly simplify our business, narrow our focus, free up resources, and allow us to operate as a more efficient organization with capacity to aggressively go after market segments that offer the most potential," said Eqonex CEO Jonathan Farnell. "The recent extreme market volatility and declining trading volumes have added to the headwinds being felt by exchange operators." Eqnoex's (EQOS) FCA-registered custody business Digivault has "already made solid progress with the additional resources that we have allocated to them recently, and we are bullish about their prospects as we become an organization focused on these high-potential business areas," Farnell added. In July, Exonex itroduced its first crypto-linked ETP.