DiffusionData Offers One-Month Free Trial of Diffusion Cloud for Real-Time Data Streaming

DiffusionData, the real-time data streaming solutions provider, has announced a free one-month trial of Diffusion Cloud, with no deployment costs or obligations. To assist new users, the company will provide access to service engineers for setup support.

Diffusion Cloud is designed to enable financial institutions to stream personalised, low-latency data efficiently, supporting live pricing, trading information, and customer notifications at scale.

The cloud-based framework allows users to connect to existing data sources, such as Kafka or Redis, within minutes. Its no-code data transformation, in-memory caching, and real-time data distribution reduce development time, operational costs, and bandwidth usage by up to 90%, according to the company. By minimising unnecessary data transmission and improving customer engagement through personalised experiences, Diffusion Cloud aims to support businesses in driving innovation and revenue growth.

Grethe Brown, CEO at DiffusionData, said: “Diffusion Cloud removes many of the obstacles developers face when using open source or in-house built solutions, most notably in terms of scalability and latency. By providing developers and architects with a free month’s trial, we are giving them access to a mature, fully managed service; enabling them to trial and evaluate the benefits that Diffusion Cloud can deliver to their organisation.”

Delta Capita Selects Fragmos Chain to Enhance OTC Derivatives Post-Trade Processing

Delta Capita, the London-based capital markets managed service and technology provider, has chosen Fragmos Chain to enhance its managed services for post-trade processing of OTC derivatives. Fragmos Chain operates on the Common Domain Model (CDM), an industry standard developed by ISDA and other market associations to streamline data and processes in the derivatives market. By integrating Fragmos Chain’s platform, Delta Capita aims to improve efficiency, automation, and accuracy in post-trade operations, reducing complexity and costs for financial institutions.

This collaboration strengthens Delta Capita’s position as a leader in OTC operations services, supporting global financial firms in optimising their post-trade workflows. The partnership was facilitated by EuropaGrowth, a boutique firm specialising in business development and M&A within the financial technology sector.

Daniel Ivanier, CEO of Fragmos Chain, commented: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Delta Capita as a strategic partner. Their deep expertise in managed services and commitment to operational excellence aligns perfectly with our vision to transform post-trade processes. This partnership will play a crucial role in accelerating adoption of our platform and delivering value to the broader industry.”

Mark Aldous, Head of Capital Markets Managed Services at Delta Capita, added: “By leveraging the Fragmos Chain platform, we are demonstrating our commitment to lowering costs for our clients through industry innovation in post-trade operations. By standardising data and processes, the Common Domain Model will help firms to reduce reconciliation time, improve accuracy and simplify compliance, to provide a foundation for future growth and collaboration across the financial ecosystem. Together, we aim to support the industry in accelerating progress towards digitalisation and automation.

QuantCube Technology Launches Hydric Stress Indicator to Track Drought Risks in Key Agricultural Regions

QuantCube Technology has introduced the Hydric Stress Indicator, a real-time tool designed to help commodity traders, financial institutions, and agricultural producers monitor drought risks across 20 countries. The indicator leverages meteorological data and satellite imagery to track soil water stress, providing early warnings categorised by crop type, including corn, soybean, wheat, and rice.

By offering daily insights into water stress levels, the tool aids traders in forecasting supply risks, anticipating price volatility, and optimising trading strategies. It has demonstrated clear correlations between drought conditions and commodity price fluctuations, particularly in U.S. corn and wheat markets. The Hydric Stress Indicator is available alongside QuantCube’s Agricultural Yield Forecasts, which provide real-time yield estimates up to eight months ahead of official reports. These tools enhance decision-making in a climate-sensitive market by offering granular, real-time analysis at regional and global levels.

Alice Froidevaux, Director of Product Development and CFA ESG at QuantCube Technology, commented: “As climate risks continue to challenge agricultural markets, the QuantCube Hydric Stress Indicator provides traders with a critical advantage in enabling them to anticipate disruptions. In particular, the indicator is a game-changer for participants in agricultural markets eager to optimise their hedging strategies.”

Governance, Security Woes ‘Holding Back Financial Sector Growth’

Data governance and security concerns are so great among UK financial services companies that they are holding back growth, according to a survey by secure computing company Optalysys.

The survey of more than 250 financial company IT professionals found that 70 per cent of decision makers said data security was holding them back, while 45 per cent said their firms experienced challenges in managing or accessing sensitive data.

“The financial services sector is the lifeblood of the UK economy, yet businesses are being limited by outdated approaches to data security,” said Optalysys chief executive Nick New. “Simply put, businesses can’t harness the real power of AI or can’t unlock the full value of their data because they are too busy trying to keep it safe. This is a massive missed opportunity and it’s holding the entire sector back.”

Zema Global Streamlines Forward-Curve Data Use

Energy commodities markets data and data management provider Zema Global has unveiled its Curve Viewer tool, which enables clients to better interrogate their data and construct the forward curves that are essential to decision making.

The new addition to Zema Global’s platform offers deeper insights into clients’ own data, the company said. It provides customisable data views, has a more user-friendly navigation structure and can be flexible enough to be deployed across trading, risk management and other functions.

“Data is the cornerstone of effective decision-making in the energy and commodity markets, but its complexity often limits its usability – Curve Viewer changes that,” said chief executive Andrea Remyn Stone. “By simplifying access and creating tools that are intuitive for a broader audience, we’re helping organisations unlock their full potential. This is about ensuring that the right data reaches the right people to support critical decision making.”

Colorado, US-based Zema Global has been offering enterprise data and data management services tailored to traders of energy commodities for a quarter of a century and has begun servicing financial institutions since it acquired Morningstar’s commodity information business late last year.

QuantCube Builds Data Model to Predict Drought

Investors in agricultural commodities are in sites for a new Hydric Stress Indicator launched by alternative data specialist QuantCube Technology. The tool is designed to provide insights into drought risks in the crop-producing regions of 20 countries.

The technology, which is available to commodity traders, financial institutions, agricultural growers and food producers, uses meteorological data and satellite imagery to offer early warnings of drought.

“As climate risks continue to challenge agricultural markets, the QuantCube Hydric Stress Indicator provides traders with a critical advantage in enabling them to anticipate disruptions,” said Alice Froidevaux, director of product development and CFA ESG at Paris-based QuantCube Technology. “In particular, the indicator is a game-changer for participants in agricultural markets eager to optimise their hedging strategies.”

LSEG Expands Market Data Offering with Additional Feeds and Market Coverage

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has significantly expanded its market data services, enhancing both its real-time and historical data offerings. The expansion includes the addition of 105 feeds to its historical market data product, Tick History – PCAP, and coverage of 37 new markets in its Real-Time-Direct (RTD) service.

The RTD service, which provides low-latency market data, now includes 20 U.S. equities and Canadian markets, as well as 17 global futures exchanges. This enhancement grants customers access to a more comprehensive set of direct feeds, including full depth-of-book data for all U.S. equities and major U.S. futures exchanges. The update also introduces a simplified architecture and lower latency, maintaining LSEG’s data model for consistency and reliability.

For historical market data, Tick History – PCAP now offers more than 400 feeds, with new coverage spanning 14 markets in the Americas, 8 in the Asia-Pacific region, and 76 in EMEA. Notable additions include feeds from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and European Energy Exchange. The data, captured with nanosecond precision at exchange data centres, is now available via AWS cloud services.

LSEG’s expanded offering aims to support market participants with deeper and more diverse datasets, enabling more informed decision-making across trading and investment strategies.

Stuart Brown Global Head of Data and Feeds, LSEG, commented: “We are delighted to offer the marketplace expanded coverage for both Tick History – PCAP and Real-Time-Direct. This expansion continues our low-latency strategy to meet the needs of our front-office customers and to provide market data across the entire latency spectrum.”

SIX Launches Digital Collateral Service, Enabling Crypto and Traditional Asset Collateral

SIX has introduced the Digital Collateral Service (DCS), allowing financial institutions to post cryptocurrency assets alongside traditional securities as collateral. This new solution streamlines collateral management by enabling firms to use both asset types to cover a single exposure, improving operational efficiency and reducing counterparty risk.

Developed by integrating expertise from SIX’s international custody business and SDX, DCS enhances collateral management with robust crypto custody infrastructure. The service provides added security measures, addressing concerns of institutional investors and encouraging broader participation in institutional cryptocurrency trading.

David Newns, Head of SDX, commented: “The role of cryptocurrencies in collateral management will become increasingly important. Our new and fully integrated solution empowers product issuers, traders, brokers, and market makers to optimise their collateral usage, whether it’s crypto or traditional securities, with built-in risk management safeguards. This allows financial institutions to embrace crypto collateral on a larger scale.”

Christian Geiger, Head Clients & Products Securities Finance, SIX added: “Building on our role as a trusted financial market infrastructure and leveraging the flexibility of our state-of-the-art Triparty Agent, we are thrilled to expand our offerings to include cryptocurrencies as a new asset class for collateralisation. With the growing institutional appetite for digital assets, we are committed to meeting the needs of this highly risk-conscious investor segment through our established and reliable services.”

ETFbook Secures €4 Million Series A Funding Led by BlackFin Capital Partners

ETFbook, the data and analytics platform focused on the ETF market, has successfully closed a €4 million Series A funding round, led by BlackFin Capital Partners. The Zurich-based company, which also operates in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Dublin, offers a comprehensive ETF platform accessible via web application and APIs.

Since its launch in mid-2020, ETFbook has experienced strong growth, now serving over 35 leading institutional clients. The investment will support further expansion and development of its data-driven solutions, reinforcing its position in the European financial market.

“We are very pleased to announce BlackFin Capital Partners as our first external investor,” commented Pawel Janus, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of ETFbook. “This investment will accelerate the execution of our ambitious product roadmap and geographic expansion strategy, enabling ETFbook to better serve the ever-evolving data & analytics needs in the thriving ETF markets, globally.”

Validus Risk Management Secures $45M Growth Investment from FTV Capital

Validus Risk Management, a leading financial risk management software and services provider, has secured a $45 million growth equity investment from FTV Capital. This minority investment will support Validus in accelerating its market expansion across the United States, APAC, and Europe, while also driving advancements in technology and product innovation.

The investment comes as the alternative assets market surpasses $13 trillion in assets under management, with firms increasingly relying on specialized technology for risk management and operational efficiency. Validus, which serves over 750 funds managing a collective $3.2 trillion in assets, offers innovative software and tech-enabled solutions across private debt, private equity, secondaries, infrastructure, and real estate. The company has maintained strong profitability and consistent recurring revenue growth, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving private markets sector.

Kevin Lester, co-founder and chief executive officer at Validus, commented: “For the past 15 years, our relentless commitment to excellence has been the foundation of our success. We are proud to serve some of the world’s largest private capital managers, while maintaining a culture that never stands still. Innovation drives us—whether through designing customised hedging strategies or developing technology that streamlines operations, mitigates risk, and enhances efficiency for our clients. With the backing of FTV Capital, we are poised to scale faster and deliver even greater value to our growing client base.”

Mike Cichowski, partner at FTV Capital, added: “The global alternative asset industry is massive and growing, yet risk management has been largely overlooked. Validus fills this gap in the market, delivering a comprehensive platform and innovative technology solutions that not only address risk management but also drive operational efficiencies in the middle-office. Validus has demonstrated its success and potential, consistently growing market share profitably and proving itself as the solution of choice for many of the world’s leading private capital firms. We’re thrilled to lead this investment and look forward to partnering with Kevin and the Validus team to accelerate the company’s growth.”