Axoni, a provider of blockchain technology for the financial services industry, has raised US$18 million in a Series A funding round led by Wells Fargo and ICAP’s venture arm Euclid Opportunities. The round also included participation from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Thomson Reuters, Andreessen Horowitz, FinTech Collective, F-Prime Capital Partners, and Digital Currency Group.
The new financing round brings Axoni’s total funding to date above US$20 million.
“Since we started working with Axoni over a year ago, we’ve been impressed with their knowledge of financial services, as well as their expertise with how distributed ledger technology can intersect with other evolving technologies,” said Richard Kerschner, chief corporate development officer at ICAP Post Trade, Risk and Information Services. “They have quietly built their credibility with key financial players and have emerged as one of the leaders in this rapidly evolving space.”
New York-based Schvey, Inc. (d/b/a “Axoni”) specializes in blockchain infrastructure. Axoni’s product offerings include distributed ledger technology deployments, smart contract development and analytics tools.
The company has carried out a number of successful, high-profile deployments, including the optimization of post-trade data management for credit default swaps, equity swaps, and foreign exchange derivatives, implemented in partnership with more than a dozen global banks and financial infrastructure providers.
The news comes as ICAP, a leading markets operator and provider of post trade risk mitigation and information services, is preparing to process foreign exchange trades on blockchain technology. Last week, ICAP, which is set to be renamed NEX Group from January, unveiled plans to utilize its Traiana subsidiary to act as a messaging hub for US$2 trillion of forex, fixed income and swaps deals. The group is working with Axoni on the project.
“By the end of March clients will be able to access their own node on the blockchain. We create a digital record in a cloud vault and also on the blockchain,” said Jenny Knott, chief executive of post trade risk and information at ICAP, as quoted by the Financial Times.
“We are building the NEX technology platform and licensing to the Traiana legal entity, so that we can run both systems in parallel. Over time we will be able to turn off the old system.”
At the same time, Euroclear, one of the world’s largest settlement houses, and its partner Paxos, have completed the first pilot for Euroclear Bankchain, the new blockchain settlement service for London bullion due to go live in 2017.
Over 600 OTC test bullion trades were settled on the Euroclear Bankchain platform over the course of the two-week pilot, which included a number of leading market participants including Scotiabank, Société Générale, Citi, MKS PAMP Group and INTL FCStone.
“This is a real first step in bringing a new settlement capability to the London bullion market that will help lower risk and simplify the post-trade process,” said Angus Scott, director, product strategy and innovation at Euroclear.