Guide Startups

PAX Markets

Winter 2025 · Active

Exchange and co-located trading facility, on a chip.

Location: Redwood City, CA, US

Founded: 2024

Team size: 6

About

PAX is a new crypto exchange and is the first – in all capital markets – to operate from a single chip rather than an entire datacenter. PAX moves traders to within nanometers of the exchange – closer than ever before possible. Such proximity unlocks unprecedented value to high frequency customers and PAX shares this value by offering zero-fee with cash-back to every other market participant on every trade. PAX is to exchange as Robinhood was to retail brokerage: the first in the industry to “go to zero” and a complete game changer across every asset and geography. PAX founders, Pete and Ben have spent years working as high-frequency traders, from crypto to traditional markets. Having directly experienced the benefit of electronic trading, they share a belief in its potential to further evolve and create better global markets.

Founders

  • Pete StevensonFounder / CEO

    CEO at PAX. High frequency crypto trader. Ultra low-latency FPGA trading at Citadel Securities. U.S. Navy officer, nuclear powered fast attack submarine. Participated in two exited startups: HICAMP acquired by Intel and Pixie acquired by New Relic. Ph.D., Stanford, electrical engineering. B.S. U.S. Naval Academy.

  • Benjamin KilimnikFounder

    CTO at PAX. High frequency crypto trader. Smart contract trader. Cryptography and systems researcher at Brown. Distributed systems software at New Relic. Privacy engineer at Pixie Labs, startup exited to New Relic. B.S. Brown University, computer science.