TradingTech Insight Brief
LSEG and Citi Announce Multi-Year Strategic Data and Analytics Partnership
LSEG and Citi have entered a multi-year strategic partnership to deploy LSEG’s data, analytics, and workflow solutions at an enterprise scale. This agreement supports Citi’s modernisation efforts by consolidating data access and standardising governance across front-to-back workflows, including markets, investment banking, wealth, trading, and compliance. The initiative aims to enhance efficiency and ensure consistent data-driven decision-making throughout the organisation.
Under the agreement, LSEG will provide AI-ready content and multi-asset class data, ranging from economic indicators and pricing to benchmarks and regulatory information. Citi will utilise LSEG’s end-to-end workflow solutions, primarily LSEG Workspace and various APIs, to support client delivery. Furthermore, the partnership strengthens Citi’s risk management and KYC frameworks by integrating World-Check risk-intelligence data, improving the auditability and coverage of onboarding processes.
Duco and Phoenix Group Partner to Modernise Asset Management Reconciliation
Duco has announced a strategic collaboration with Phoenix Group to modernise the reconciliation infrastructure within its Asset Management division. The project involves creating a unified, cloud-based environment to reconcile investment and accounting records across 20 administrators and various asset classes. This initiative is designed to allow the business to scale efficiently while providing operational teams with a more robust and streamlined platform.
The initial phase of the project will focus on automating the reconciliation between Investment Book of Record (IBOR) and Accounting Book of Record (ABOR) data. This step aims to ensure consistent, auditable controls and full alignment with European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) standards. By reducing manual intervention in these critical workflows, Phoenix Group seeks to strengthen internal controls and enable teams to take greater ownership of daily operations.
Horizon Trading Solutions Partners with OCEANE Invest to Deploy Automated Market-Making Technology on ADX
Horizon Trading Solutions has partnered with OCEANE Invest, a newly established Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market maker, to deploy its automated market-making and algorithmic trading suite. This collaboration will support OCEANE Invest’s upcoming ETF listings on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The initiative is designed to enhance market liquidity and efficiency, whilst reinforcing the ADX’s position as a key regional hub for ETFs.
OCEANE Invest selected Horizon’s technology to ensure continuous liquidity, tight spreads, and dynamic hedging capabilities for its new products. The system integrates with OCEANE’s internal pricing and risk engines, allowing the firm to utilise its quantitative research and in-house modelling to adapt complex operations in real time. The partnership ultimately aims to drive the growth of the GCC ETF industry, offering local investors reliable and cost-effective trading services backed by experienced traders from the US and Europe.
BLOX Markets Selects Adaptive’s Aeron Technology for Openpool Trading Venue
BLOX Markets has announced the integration of Aeron, the high-performance open-source messaging and clustering technology, into the architecture of Openpool. Developed by Adaptive, Aeron will support the infrastructure of Openpool, an upcoming US equities trading venue focused specifically on the retail sector.
Following an assessment of several options, BLOX Markets selected the Aeron stack because it precisely matched their technical requirements. The technology was chosen for its ability to deliver determinism, low latency, scalability, and resilience. Widely adopted across capital markets, Aeron provides a proven foundation for demanding financial systems, ensuring the new trading venue operates with high throughput and stability.
United Fintech Secures Strategic Investment from Barclays and Appoints Bank to Board
United Fintech has secured a strategic investment from Barclays, adding the major UK bank to its shareholder base of leading global financial institutions. Barclays joins BNP Paribas, Citi, Danske Bank, and Standard Chartered, all of whom have invested within the past two years. As part of this new partnership, Barclays will join the United Fintech Board of Directors, reinforcing the collaboration between established banks and the fintech platform.
This investment follows a period of significant growth for United Fintech. In 2025, the company completed two acquisitions, expanding its portfolio to seven fintechs, and now operating with over 200 employees across 11 global offices. These recent developments aim to assist clients in modernising infrastructure and deploying AI-powered innovations securely through a single point of access.
Archax and TradingStack Partner to Support FIX Connectivity for Digital Assets
Archax, the regulated digital asset platform, are partnering with TradingStack.io to offer FIX access to cryptocurrencies and tokenised real-world assets (RWAs). This initiative allows traditional financial institutions to access Archax’s Primary and Secondary markets using the same connectivity, workflows, and messaging standards they already rely on for equities, FX, and derivatives. By utilising the industry-standard FIX protocol, the collaboration aims to significantly accelerate the onboarding process for institutional clients entering the digital asset space.
The integration is designed to reduce the complexity often associated with accessing digital markets, and to provide streamlined access to various assets, including tokenised funds, bonds, and commodities. The technology also aims to eliminate the need for custom development, thereby reducing integration risks and shortening go-live timelines from months to days, ensuring consistent message schemas and improved straight-through processing for institutions.
Kraken Selects Avelacom to Provide High-Performance Trading Connectivity
Avelacom has been chosen by Kraken to provide high-performance network connectivity, aiming to enhance execution quality for clients. Starting immediately, trading firms can access Kraken’s matching engine through Avelacom’s optimised low-latency routes. This integration enables institutions to receive real-time market data and execute orders rapidly, supporting latency-sensitive strategies such as multi-venue liquidity and cross-exchange arbitrage.
Avelacom operates a global network connecting financial centres across Europe, North America, APAC, and the Middle East. Specific routes, such as the London-Tokyo connection, deliver sub-138ms round-trip latency via fibre, while hybrid networks utilising wireless segments offer further speed advantages. The infrastructure connects leading traditional and crypto exchanges with 99.9% uptime and 24/7 support.
Publicis Sapient and Murex Deliver Treasury Transformation for Aldermore Bank
Publicis Sapient and Murex have announced the successful implementation of the MX.3 front-to-back-to-risk platform for Aldermore Bank. The UK specialist financial services provider undertook this initiative to replace its legacy systems with a modern, integrated, cloud-based treasury platform. The primary objectives were to enhance treasury efficiency and provide greater hedging options for risk management.
Publicis Sapient led the transformation, tasked with blueprinting the target operating model and defining a resilient SaaS-based architecture. Aldermore opted for MXGO, a specific MX.3 packaged solution designed to reduce complexity and total cost of ownership while allowing for rapid deployment. This SaaS-based model supports the bank’s evolving needs through broad functional coverage and seamless integration across treasury workflows, ensuring scalability and regulatory compliance.
Digital Asset Completes Second Round of Canton Network Transactions with Financial Consortium
Digital Asset, in collaboration with a consortium of leading financial institutions including Bank of America, Societe Generale, and Tradeweb, has successfully completed a second series of transactions on the Canton Network. This initiative builds upon the initial on-chain US Treasury financing pilot conducted in July. The latest activity involved five coordinated transactions, marking a significant step towards creating a scalable, continuous capital markets infrastructure. The working group has expanded to include new members such as Brale and M1X Global, alongside existing partners like Circle, Citadel Securities, and Virtu Financial.
This second round focused on the Canton Network’s Global Collateral Network, demonstrating critical advancements in digital asset utility. Key developments included the use of multiple stablecoins, specifically SBC and USDM1, to broaden liquidity sources. Notably, the transactions demonstrated the first instance of real-time collateral reuse, allowing tokenised Treasuries to be rehypothecated across counterparties immediately to address operational inefficiencies found in traditional markets. Future phases aim to further advance these capabilities, with a specific focus on enabling cross-border transactions.
Clearstream Launches Next Data Solutions to Enhance Post-Trade Analytics
Clearstream, part of Deutsche Börse Group, has introduced Next Data Solutions, a new suite of analytics designed to increase transparency across the post-trade value chain. The offering unifies four specific products—SettlementNext, LendingNext, CollateralNext, and LiquidityNext—under a single framework. The primary objective is to enable financial institutions to shift from retrospective reporting to proactive decision-making, allowing them to anticipate settlement challenges, optimise collateral allocation, and manage liquidity in real time.
Within the SettlementNext product, Clearstream has introduced the T+1 Scorecard to support clients preparing for the accelerated settlement cycle in Europe. This tool provides insights into the operational effort required to meet T+1 compliance standards. Next Data Solutions is currently available to clients through the Clearstream Xact web portal, with additional analytics modules scheduled for release in 2026.