Cryptocurrency exchange INX has acquired over-the-counter forex-focused trader ILS Brokers for $4.75 million.

ILS is an Israel-based broker with more than 50 relationships with major banks around the world, providing INX with global institutional reach, according to an emailed announcement Tuesday.The deal is "another building block and touch-point" linking crypto with traditional finance, INX President Shy Datika said.INX's acquisition of ILS follows soon after the purchase of alternative trading system Openfinance, which will allow INX to offer security tokens and crypto trading in tandem."We believe that cryptocurrency non-deliverable-forward trading by global institutions will take the spotlight, especially given most institutions are looking for a way to trade cryptocurrency price volatility without the responsibility of actually holding the underlying assets," Datika said.Last year INX became the first company to complete a security token offering registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its initial public offering kicked off on the Ethereum blockchain in September 2020, ultimately raising around $85 million from more than 7,200 investors.