/Companies

SFOX

YC S14

Los Angeles, US · Founded 2014 · 60 employees · 13 known investors

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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 OX Labs, Inc. · San Francisco Open Exchange · sFOX · SFOX

Crypto & Web3FintechCrypto / Web3United States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaFully Remote

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S14)

SFOX was founded in 2014 by George Melika and Akbar Thobhani.

GMGeorge Melika
George MelikaCo-Founder2014–2022He has over 20 years of experience in software development, with a background building algorithmic trading and cryptocurrency platforms.
ATAkbar Thobhani
Akbar ThobhaniCo-FounderBefore co-founding SFOX in 2014, he led growth, business development, and payments at Airbnb and later advised the company, and served on the board of Balanced Payments. He previously worked at BOKU, Lehman Brothers, Stamps.com, and Virtu Financial, where he began his career as a software engineer on trading algorithm analytics.
JMJavier Martinez
Javier MartinezCEOHe has experience in financial services and blockchain technology.
BCBilal Chinoy
Bilal ChinoyChief Technology Officer
DADavid Arnold
David ArnoldChief Financial OfficerHe brings over 20 years of experience in finance, operations, and corporate strategy across Fortune 500 companies, startups, and international banks, with expertise in fundraising, IPOs, and global business expansion; he previously supported Boku's 2017 London Stock Exchange listing.
AZAleksandr Zhuk
Aleksandr ZhukChief Information Security OfficerChief Information Security Officer at sFOX, Aleksandr Zhuk brings over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity and risk management within financial services and fintech, with expertise in regulatory compliance frameworks and information security governance.
DPDiana Pires
Diana PiresChief Business Officer
JKJames Kiernan
James KiernanChief Compliance OfficerJames Kiernan has spent nearly two decades in financial compliance and regulatory roles, including leadership positions at Morgan Stanley, RBC, and City National Bank focused on AML/BSA and financial crime programs. He currently serves as Chief Compliance Officer at sFOX, where he oversees the compliance program and regulatory strategy for the institutional digital asset platform.
AC
Alex CheeHead of Productformer

Investors · 13

Boost VCreportedSan Mateo · $500K

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

CRYPTO CURRENCY PARTNERSreportedSan Francisco

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

DHVCreportedMenlo Park

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

HaystackreportedSan Francisco · $1M – $3M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Upside PartnershipreportedMill Valley · $500K

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Venture Investment AssociatesreportedPeapack

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The YC application· Summer 2014 batch

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

sFOX 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 reported
Custody insurance coverageJan 2025$200M
HeadcountAug 202691
Liquidity providers aggregatedJan 202540 providers
Operational uptimeJan 2025100%
Security incidents since 2014Jan 20250 incidents

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

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Companies working in the same space as SFOX.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
OX Labs, Inc.

▸Research sources · 1

primary sources listed

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, Plug and Play Ventures, Transmedia Capital, Utopian Ventures, Y Combinator, Boost VC, CRYPTO CURRENCY PARTNERS and 5 more.
Where is SFOX headquartered?
SFOX is headquartered in Los Angeles, US.