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Arkham denies exchange closure plan, says switching to decentralized platform

Data analytics firm Arkham Intel first floated the idea of adding a crypto derivatives exchange in late 2024.

By Ian Allison|Edited by Sheldon Reback
Updated Feb 11, 2026, 1:26 p.m. Published Feb 11, 2026, 9:22 a.m.
Arkham was listed on CoinDesk's Project To Watch 2023
Arkham was listed on CoinDesk's Project To Watch 2023 (CoinDesk)

What to know:

  • Arkham denied it is planning to shutter its crypto trading platform.
  • CoinDesk reported that a person familiar with the matter said the data intelligence firm intended to close it down.
  • The company declined to say how many people would lose their jobs as a result of the change.

UPDATE (Feb. 11, 13:25 UTC): Rewrites headline, body to reflect company's response that the exchange is switching to a decentralized model. An earlier version of this story said it was being closed.

Arkham Exchange, the cryptocurrency trading platform built by data analytics company Arkham Intelligence, is switching from a centralized to a fully decentralized model, the firm's boss said.

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"The Arkham Exchange is becoming a fully decentralized exchange rather than a centralized exchange," founder Miguel Morel said in an email after CoinDesk, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported the company planned to close it down.

"The future of crypto trading is decentralized, and that's what we're building towards," Morel said.

Asked how many staff would lose their jobs as a result of the move, Morel declined to comment.

Arkham's backers include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The company, which was founded in 2020 and now boasts over 3 million registered users, floated the idea of adding a crypto derivatives exchange back in October 2024. The plan was to compete with giants such as Binance for retail investors.

Morel took the opportunity to have a pop at the centralized exchanges he attempted to compete with.

"Centralized incumbents have become bloated and unresponsive to user needs, becoming worse than the traditional financial systems they pretend to improve on. We don’t want to invest in that," he said.

By early 2025, Arkham Exchange had added spot crypto trading in a number of U.S. states. But volumes appear to have been a challenge, despite the firm adding a mobile trading app in December.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by volume, had almost $9 billion of daily trading, according to CoinGecko data. Coinbase (COIN), the No. 2, had $2 billion. Akrham recorded just under $620,000 in the past 24 hours.

In addition to Altman, Arkham’s backers include Draper Associates, Binance Labs and Bedrock.

Arkham hosts its own native crypto token, ARKM, which has fallen 3.6% in the past 24 hours to $0.1133, according to CpomDesk data.



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