London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has unveiled plans for a new digital markets business, making it the first major exchange to offer extensive trading of traditional financial assets on blockchain technology. This development raises eyebrows considering LSEG’s skepticism towards cryptocurrencies but it’s worth taking a closer look.
LSEG is an interesting company that has undergone significant transformation in recent years. Its share price has soared as it combined with Refinitiv and evolved from a traditional stock exchange to a comprehensive financial data giant. Its new slogan, “Others do some of what we do, but not everything we do,” accurately reflects its position in the market.
While LSEG’s equity story is generally positive, Jefferies identifies Refinitiv’s “desktop franchise” or Eikon as its weakness. However, the upcoming launch of Workspace, LSEG’s new platform, may address this concern. LSEG is also making strides in other areas, including artificial intelligence (AI). It has partnered with Microsoft to create “bespoke large language models,” leveraging Microsoft’s 4% stake in LSEG and its extensive cloud capabilities.
So, where does blockchain fit into all of this? LSEG has been exploring blockchain technology in collaboration with Microsoft for several months. Microsoft’s global Web3 lead recently hinted at an upcoming announcement. This suggests that LSEG is considering Microsoft’s blockchain offering, although specifics are still scarce. One possible candidate is Digital Asset, a company involved in building blockchain solutions for the Australian equity market.
Digital Asset was previously blamed for delays and issues in the Australian Stock Exchange’s settlement system project. Despite this, LSEG’s potential collaboration with Digital Asset, with Microsoft’s involvement, could be a game-changer in the finance industry.
It’s important to note that LSEG has dabbled in blockchain before, partnering with IBM in 2017 to create a blockchain-based platform for issuing private shares in Italian businesses through Borsa Italiana.
In conclusion, LSEG’s foray into blockchain technology, with the support of Microsoft, is an unexpected but intriguing development. While the details are still unclear, it will be fascinating to see how this story unfolds in the coming months.
(Note: LSEG, Digital Asset, and Microsoft declined to comment for this article.)
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
