A-Team Insight Brief
Digital Token Identifier Foundation Join FCA Digital Sandbox
The Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) created by Etrading Software to provide ISO standard identifiers for digital assets has joined the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Digital Sandbox. The DTIF has been onboarded as a data supplier, with Denis Dounaev, Digital Token Identifier (DTI) product owner recognised as a mentor under the Digital Sandbox Programme.
As Registration Authority for the ISO 24165 standard, the DTIF’s mission is to provide the golden source reference data for the unique identification of digital tokens. DTI use is recommended under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime and has been proposed by ESMA for crypto-asset identification under MiCA. The DTI Registry includes technical attributes for over 1,800 digital tokens. The data provided by the DTI Foundation to the Sandbox is an accurate representation of all data currently captured by the DTI Registry.
DTCC Completes Acquisition of Securrency, Now Rebranded as DTCC Digital Assets
Following its announcement in October, agreeing to acquire Securrency Inc., a developer of institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure, DTCC today announced the completion of the transaction. The Securrency brand will now be retired and the business will operate as DTCC Digital Assets, headed by Lynn Bishop, Managing Director and Chief Information Officer.
Frank La Salla, DTCC President, CEO and Director, commented: “We are excited to bring together our people, expertise and respective technologies to create a powerful combination that will help the industry unlock the value of digital assets and drive market-wide transformation. We look forward to providing global leadership to establish a robust digital infrastructure that protects the safety and soundness of financial markets and delivers on the enormous promise and potential of institutional DeFi in the coming years.”
BMLL Completes China Data Offering, Expands APAC Market Coverage
BMLL, the Level 3 data and analytics provider, has completed its China data offering, integrating data from all major mainland China Equity Exchanges, including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, in a consistent format via the BMLL Data Lab. This complements BMLL’s APAC equities and ETF data coverage by building on existing data from CBOE Japan, Japannext, Singapore Exchange, Tokyo Stock Exchange, ASX, and CBOE Australia.
With access to detailed Level 3, T+1 order book data, alongside advanced pre-and post-trade analytics, BMLL’s broadened data spectrum is designed to aid sell-side and buy-side firms in improving trading decisions across Asian markets, and to enable sell-side execution firms to enhance their product offerings. Asian exchanges can also use this data for venue comparisons and to assess market quality or liquidity provider performance, both locally and globally.
Avelacom Enhances Global Trading with Latency Improvements in Backhaul Network
Connectivity & IT infrastructure solutions provider Avelacom, has significantly upgraded its backhaul network to offer reduced latency between European and US exchanges and major financial hubs in Asia and the Middle East. The upgrade, which shortens fibre optic path lengths by up to 140 kilometres, aims to enable more efficient market data feeds and order execution for global institutional investors and professional traders, particularly for complex trading strategies like algorithmic arbitrage trading.
In the Middle East and Asia regions, Avelacom’s network now provides optimised connections offering low latency connectivity, colocation, managed hosting, and real-time market data feeds, to exchanges including Borsa Istanbul, Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange (DGCX), Saudi Exchange/Tadawul, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Thailand SET, Taipei Futures Exchange (TAIFEX), and Japan Exchange Group (JSE), and various exchanges in India.
FlexTrade Systems Partners with BTON Financial to Integrate AI-Driven Broker Selection
FlexTrade Systems, the execution management systems (EMS) vendor, and BTON Financial, the data collaboration and order routing technology provider, have collaborated to enable FlexTRADER EMS users to access AI-driven broker selection recommendations to optimise best execution performance.
The integration allows traders using FlexTRADER EMS to easily send order parameters to BTON’s cloud-based, AI, and data-driven SaaS solution, which then suggests the optimal broker for best execution. The development aims to augment the existing automation capabilities of FlexTRADER EMS and FlexAlgoWheel and simplify low-touch workflows by incorporating BTON’s recommendations into traders’ automation rules.
AWS Expands Amazon Bedrock to Give Users a Choice of LLMs for Generative AI Apps
AWS has announced innovations to Amazon Bedrock that expand Large Language Model (LLM) choices and deliver powerful capabilities making it easier for customers to build and scale generative AI applications customised to their business. Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service that offers easy access to LLMs and other foundation models from AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Stability AI, and Amazon.
Acknowledging that one model is not ideal for every use case as models vary across capabilities, price, and performance, AWS developed Bedrock to give customers easy access to a variety of model choices so they can try out different models, switch between them, and combine the best models for their needs. Building with, and moving between, LLMs is achieved using an API call.
Informatica and MongoDB Partner to Offer Cloud-Native Data-Driven Applications
Informatica, a cloud data management provider, has made a new strategic partnership with MongoDB. The partnership enables customers to create a modern class of cloud native, data driven, industry tailored applications powered by MongoDB Atlas and fed with data from Informatica’s AI-powered MDM solution.
“We already leverage the performance and scale of MongoDB Atlas within our cloud-native MDM SaaS solution, so this partnership is a natural next step,” says Rik Tamm-Daniels, group vice president of strategic ecosystems and technology at Informatica. “As a strategic MDM partner of MongoDB, we can help customers consolidate and sunset multiple legacy applications and bring in cloud-native ones built on a trusted data foundation.”
Snowflake Adds Market Operations in Colombia
Snowflake has officially launched market operations in Colombia as it focuses on expanding its customer base in the county and across Latin America. The Colombia base adds to more than 40 Snowflake offices across 19 countries and will be led by Ernesto Serrano, country manager for Colombia. The company plans to build on the professional services team already located in its Colombia office and expand hiring to focus on sales and customer support.
Companies using Snowflake in Colombia include Belcorp, a provider of personal care products, which uses Snowflake to make near real-time business decisions on pricing, sales and inventory; and Juan Valdez, a Colombia-based multinational coffee retailer, which uses Snowflake’s secure data exchange to centralise and analyse data from its stores in more than 500 outlets and offer better and more personalised experiences for users.
interop.io Launches Desktop Interoperability Maturity Model
Interoperability provider interop.io has released its desktop interoperability maturity model, a framework that helps financial institutions progress desktop interoperability through workflow and UI integration. The model defines a pathway to optimising business processes, uncovering data-driven insights, and reducing operational risk. Developers can expect to reduce development, testing, and release times by 50%, according to the company.
Practical benefits are expected to include better client service, better user experience, and demonstrable ROI from improved efficiency and effectiveness and reduced error rates. As well as evaluating their own interop maturity, firms can select the most suitable application provider based on their interop maturity level. Software vendors can better understand their customers’ interop goals, and system integrators can rely on the model for a clear path and milestones for their clients’ digital transformation projects.
TNS Offers Colocation at B3, Brazil’s Largest Stock Exchange
Transaction Network Services (TNS) has established colocation services with B3 S.A., Brazil’s largest stock exchange and the world’s third largest derivatives exchange, based in Sao Paulo. This strategic move not only strengthens TNS’s offerings but also positions it as a key player in connecting global markets with Brazil’s financial trading systems. The partnership provides TNS’s clients with managed hosting, market data, and direct exchange access through its Layer 1 ultra low latency network, enabling efficient trading across various asset classes.
The initiative responds to the growing demand at B3 and opens up new trading avenues for international investors, particularly those from the US and Europe, seeking low-latency connectivity. It underscores TNS’s dedication to expanding its services within the Brazilian market, building on the previous launch of market data access at the exchange in 2021.