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COVID-19 vs. PanXchange, a Trading & Benchmark Pricing Platform for Physical Commodities
Startup.info
We spoke to Julie Lerner of PanXchange about the hemp industry and the effects of COVID-19.
First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?
Julie Lerner: Of course, this pandemic is a tragedy that has brought sudden hardship and loss to many worldwide. While I empathize with this and am supporting friends, family, and colleagues who are struggling, for me, it has become a time of deep gratitude. More specifically, I’m grateful for the health of my “inner circle” and for the supportive network we provide for one another.
Tell us about you, your career, how you founded PanXchange.
Julie Lerner: I am the Founder and CEO of PanXchange, a web-based trading platform and benchmark price provider for physical commodities. In 2019, I created the hemp industry’s first suite of price benchmarks; mere weeks after hemp became federally legal. Within a few short months, it became the industry’s leading and most trusted benchmark price source. It is still the only institutional-grade trading platform available for hemp growers, processors, trade houses, and end-users, making it a hugely beneficial development in the nascent U.S. industrial hemp market. With the help of PanXchange, it is maturing beyond its opaque and fragmented state. PanXchange grew rapidly in hemp due to its success in the U.S. oil and gas’s specialty sand market. Specifically, in October of 2017, PanXchange launched its platform for frac sand, becoming the first and only exchange for supporting this 120 million ton market. Two months later, the company created the first-ever benchmark prices for the industry. This innovation was recognized as a leading innovator by the International Futures Industry Association (FIA) and won Barchart, Inc.’s International Startup Exchange Competition.