SFOX
YC S14Los Angeles, US · Founded 2014 · 60 employees · 5 known investors
sFOX is an institutional digital asset infrastructure platform providing enterprise-level access to crypto markets through a unified interface with deep liquidity, trading algorithms, and custody solutions. The platform serves institutional investors, trading firms, fintech companies, and businesses managing digital asset operations.
Also known as San Francisco Open Exchange · sFOX · SFOX
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S14)
SFOX was founded in 2014 by George Melika and Akbar Thobhani.
Investors · 5
The YC application· Summer 2014 batch
Company profile
researched Aug 2026sFOX operates an institutional digital asset platform that combines trading and execution, custody and settlement, liquidity access, and connectivity infrastructure in a single system. The company describes four core capabilities: sFOX Connect, an integrated API for onboarding, trading, custody and compliance functions used to launch crypto trading, custody and global payment platforms; Trading & Execution, offering multi-venue liquidity, smart order routing and best execution; Custody & Settlement through sFOX SAFE; and Prime Services covering institutional prime brokerage with staking, settlement and support.
Custody is provided through SAFE Trust Co., a Wyoming-chartered trust company. Assets held in SAFE remain in regulated storage while clients execute trades, stake and use prime services, an arrangement the company frames as removing the need to move assets onto exchanges and thereby limiting exchange counterparty risk. The company states that custodied assets are bankruptcy-protected and covered by $200 million of insurance.
Business model
sFOX sells enterprise digital asset infrastructure to institutions, delivering trading, custody, liquidity, payments and compliance capability through a single integration rather than requiring clients to assemble multiple vendors. Onboarding routes on its site include booking a demo, opening an account, and speaking with a named relationship manager, indicating a direct, account-managed institutional relationship model.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history
Market position
Presents itself as an institutional crypto engine and prime broker serving institutions that require resilience, performance and risk-managed execution, competing with vendors that institutions would otherwise stitch together for trading, custody, liquidity and compliance.
sFOX positions itself on trading directly from regulated SAFE Trust custody so assets are not exposed to exchange counterparty risk; aggregated liquidity across 40+ providers with smart order routing; bank-grade regulated custody under a Wyoming trust charter with $200M coverage and a stated record of zero security incidents since 2014; global redundancy targeting 99.99% uptime; and consolidation of trading, custody, liquidity and compliance into one platform.
Technology
The platform aggregates 40+ liquidity providers with smart order routing intended to source best execution and reduce slippage, which the company says yields order book depth roughly ten times that of any single venue. sFOX Connect exposes onboarding, trading, custody and compliance through one integrated API. Global redundancy and failover systems support a stated 99.99% operational uptime, and custody is operated via a regulated trust structure that permits trading, staking and prime services directly from storage.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales supported by demo requests, account opening and expert consultation on the company's site, plus an embedded-infrastructure route in which partners such as fintechs and banks integrate sFOX Connect behind their own products. Service delivery includes 24/7 institutional support with a named relationship manager.
Institutional mandates across four stated segments: fintechs and neobanks seeking plug-and-play crypto infrastructure behind their own user experience; banks and credit unions using the company's Wyoming trust charter to offer digital asset services to depositors; crypto businesses needing liquidity redundancy and failover; and asset managers wanting to trade directly from custody.
History
The company states it has operated since 2014 and has developed infrastructure designs addressing structural risks in institutional digital assets, including custody-integrated execution.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 10
by search overlap
Companies competing with SFOX for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- SFOXsfox.com · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does SFOX do?
- sFOX is an institutional crypto platform unifying multi-venue trading, regulated custody, liquidity and prime services.
- Who founded SFOX?
- SFOX was founded by George Melika, Akbar Thobhani in 2014.
- Who are SFOX's investors?
- SFOX's investors include Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Oyster Ventures, Transmedia Capital, Y Combinator.
- Where is SFOX headquartered?
- SFOX is headquartered in Los Angeles, US.