At EQX, we are reimagining what it means to be a financial platform in today’s crypto landscape. Our mission is bold but simple: to build the world’s most transparent exchange. This isn’t just about addressing past failures—it’s about setting a new standard, where financial platforms are held accountable by the users themselves.
After witnessing the collapse of FTX and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), I kept asking: How did we get here? More importantly, how do we move forward and rebuild trust in this industry? John Ray, the CEO managing FTX’s bankruptcy, described the situation as an “utter failure of corporate controls”—with no real financial statements in place. That deeply resonated with me. As a customer, how do we demand better? What needs to change?
Two years later, not much has changed. The collapse of FTX has faded from the headlines and we’re on the next news cycle, but the core problem remains: people either feel helpless to demand more or assume that someone else will fix the system. At EQX, we reject that complacency. We’re trying to do something completely different hoping that will inspire something new.
The Problem: Bigger Isn’t Always Better
In finance, many of us blindly trust the largest or oldest institutions. Think of how you choose your last bank or crypto exchange? We actually think very little about who to trust and default to those that are the biggest or oldest. Many websites boldly claim some large number of customers trust us and provide nothing else as evidence. As we saw in the 2008 financial crisis, size doesn’t equate to trustworthiness. Even the most established companies can still fail us.
We’re challenging the idea that trust is given simply by being the biggest or the oldest. Instead, we believe trust should be earned. At EQX, we’re giving you a permanent window into how we operate and in real-time.
The Solution: Radical Transparency
Our philosophy is simple: transparency at every level. To earn your trust, we need to provide you with something equal in return—complete visibility. That’s why we named ourselves EQX: short for “Equivalent Exchange.”
We are the first private company and crypto exchange to disclose all financials in real-time—on-chain and off-chain. Like a public company, our balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and proof of solvency will be visible to you at all times.
In Pursuit of Real-Time and Taking the Hard Path
Why real-time? Because in the wake of FTX, we need the opposite: something that is actually real, cannot be faked, something you can verify for yourself. This will be hard. There is a reason why this has not been done before. As financial statements have typically been compiled at the end of the month, quarter, or year, moving to a real time system is something that will be incredibly difficult and I am not underestimating the effort.
Along the way, we will definitely make mistakes, especially as we scale and build something new. Our goal is not to shy away from mistakes but to own them and to be fully transparent with our journey and decisions.
A Vision for the Future of Finance and Aligning Incentives
The product manager in me always believes that if no one is willing to change, then it presents an opportunity. As I deeply thought through the problem, one source of inspiration for me has been making it easy for people to do something good or the right thing. Take Tesla, for example. When I bought my first Tesla, I wasn’t necessarily sold on the mission to electrify the world—I loved my manual transmission sports cars. But once I sat in a Model 3 and drove it, I realized this was the commuting car of the future and actually with great design. Let’s be honest here: earlier EVs were intentionally designed not to compete with their gas-powered counterparts... Say what you will about Tesla, but they made it easy for me to help the environment while enjoying my commute—as much as anyone can enjoy a commute.
How does that relate to EQX? I believe we can build a company that not only makes things easy for users but also benefits the community and sets a new standard for trust and transparency in the financial industry. At EQX, we’re creating a platform where users won’t need to rely on blind trust—we offer a permanent, real-time view of your investments. Transparency isn’t just a feature; it’s the foundation of everything we do, and we aim for it to become a key differentiator in the industry.
To me, EQX can be more than just a crypto exchange. It’s the first step toward an industry where incentives are finally aligned. Make no mistake, a financial institution that is completely transparent is forced to be extremely conservative. Any major perceived risk seen by consumers will immediately trigger a bank run. This will force companies to operate differently, always thinking about consumers first. When I think about banks and crypto exchanges as guardians of trust and my money, I actually want them to operate more conservatively as any additional risk they take on does not materially benefit me. In this new model of transparency, customers can choose to trust and reward companies that are taking a more conservative approach thus finally aligning incentives.
We hope that our mission and vision resonates with you and that you would join us in this journey. We’d love to hear from you.
Kevin
