BSO Partners Stake Capital to Deliver Blockchain Staking-as-a-Service

Stake Capital, a provider of secure delegation services, has partnered network, cloud and hosting provider BSO to deliver blockchain staking-as-a-service for institutional cryptocurrency. The Stake Capital platform and its digital assets custodian services enable institutional investors to securely manage their crypto investments while viewing insights and analytics regarding their investments’ performance through staking and lending. BSO is equipping Stake Capital with private connectivity to Amazon Web Services (AWS), which delivers low latency and avoids using the public internet. Stake Capital is leveraging the AWS platform to ensure maximum uptime and availability across all proof-of-stake networks.

ESMA Names Three UK CCPs to Offer Services in the EU Following a No-Deal Brexit

ESMA has named three UK central counterparties (CCPs) that will be allowed to provide services in the EU following a no-deal Brexit. The CCPs are LCH, ICE Clear Europe, and LME Clear and have been selected to limit the risk of disruption in central clearing and avoid any negative impact on the financial stability of the EU in the case of a no-deal Brexit. ESMA also supports continued access to UK central securities depositories (CSDs) and is in the process of selecting which ones will continue to be recognised in the EU after a no-deal Brexit.

InfluxData Raises $60 Million Funding to Further Develop its Time Series Database

InfluxData, creator of the InfluxDB time series database, has raised $60 million in Series D funding, led by Norwest Venture Partners and joined by Sorenson Capital and existing investors Sapphire Ventures, Battery Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Trinity Ventures and Harmony Partners. The funds will support further investment in product innovation, with increased focus on the cloud, and building out sales and marketing to meet growing product demand, as well as customer support. InfluxData will also begin to market its solutions for specific uses, including financial services.

Broadridge Report Reveals Damage of Poor Personalised Communications

Broadridge Financial Solutions has released a rather telling report for those at financial institutions responsible for customer onboarding and client lifecycle management. The report shows that personalisation in communications can make a significant impact on customer loyalty. Some 35% of 3,004 consumers surveyed in the US and Canada said companies they use need to improve communication experiences, while 25% stopped doing business with a company specifically due to poorly personalised communications, a percentage that grows to 35% among millennials.

Vela Partners Smart Order Router Provider CoinRoutes

Vela, a trading and market access technology firm, has partnered CoinRoutes, a provider of consolidated data, smart order routing (SOR) and algorithmic trading for crypto investors, in order to extend its crypto-asset SOR offering and achieve optimal aggregate prices across selected crypto exchanges. Peggy Sullivan, chief of staff at Vela, says, “Our partnership with CoinRoutes allows traders to leverage sophisticated SOR and algorithmic strategies to achieve best execution.”

IHS Markit Adds ESG Solution for Private Capital Markets

IHS Markit has introduced an environmental, social and governance (ESG) data collection and reporting solution for private equity (PE) firms, venture capital (VC) firms, their portfolio companies and investors. The solution is part of iLEVEL, a platform connecting participants in private capital markets. ESG reporting in iLEVEL covers 29 metrics relevant to investors seeking data from portfolio companies and PE or VC funds. The metrics include CO2 footprint, diversity in employment and independence of board members, helping general partners and limited partners apply non-financial data to their value creation and risk management processes, two areas of interest for investors.

RegTech Could be Worth $7.2bn by 2023

Spending on RegTech is forecast to climb to US$7.2 billion by 2023, from US$2.3 billion in 2018 – a CAGR of 25.4% during the forecast period 2018-23. The Asia Pacific region is expected to hold the highest potential, and will see the fastest growth over the five-year period. The compliance management solution segment is expected to see the biggest growth in terms of sectors. The predictions come from the recently-released ResearchAndMarkets.com report: “Global Regulatory Technology (RegTech) Market: Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Trends, and Forecast up to 2023.”

ChartIQ Raises $17.4 Million in Series B Funding

ChartIQ, a provider of HTML5 real-time data charting software and most recently a desktop integration platform that connects disparate applications into a unified desktop solution, has completed Series B funding, led by German investor Digital+ Partners, of $17.4 million. The company will use the funding to increase hiring efforts, expand its headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia and invest in research and development. It currently employs 50 staff globally and includes nine of the largest global investment banks among its customers. In total, ChartIQ has raised over $20 million in funding since its founding in 2012.

Shield FC Wins Deloitte RegTech Challenge

Shield Financial Compliance (Shield FC) has been named by Deloitte as one of the most innovative start-ups using artificial intelligence (AI) to solve regulatory challenges in the financial sector.

Shield FC’s cross-regulation compliance platform provides a 360 view of all electronics communications and trades, making compliance more efficient and ROI driven.

“As Deloitte, we are proud to create for Shield FC the opportunity to be a part of our innovation ecosystem that aims to solve real business problems and meet our clients’ needs,” said the Deloitte RegTech Challenge team.

Theta Lake Raises $5m in Seed Funding

Theta Lake, an AI-based RegTech provider for video communication compliance based in California, has raised $5 million in its first round of Series A seed funding led by Neotribe Ventures and Firebolt Ventures.

Theta Lake’s platform uses AI to help compliance teams more effectively scale their compliance risk detection and workflow for supervising communication on modern video, voice, and unified collaboration systems.