FCA Approves London Stock Exchange to Launch World’s First Regulated Private Stock Market

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved the London Stock Exchange to operate PISCES, the world’s first regulated private stock market. The platform will allow trading of shares in private companies on an intermittent basis, using mechanisms such as periodic auctions or limited continuous trading sessions.

PISCES (The Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) will initially run within the FCA’s financial markets infrastructure sandbox, enabling the regulator to test and refine the system before introducing a permanent framework in 2030. This marks the second use of the sandbox powers, following the Digital Securities Sandbox.

The legislative framework for PISCES was finalised through a Statutory Instrument laid before Parliament in May 2025. Firms seeking to operate a PISCES platform must apply to the FCA, which has published guidance to support both pre-application and application processes.

SBI Group and Chainlink Form Strategic Partnership to Advance Digital Asset Adoption in Japan and APAC

SBI Group, one of Japan’s largest financial conglomerates, has announced a strategic partnership with Chainlink to accelerate blockchain and digital asset adoption across global markets, starting with Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region. The collaboration aims to combine SBI’s market expertise with Chainlink’s secure oracle and interoperability infrastructure, already widely used by financial institutions and decentralised finance applications.

A recent survey by SBI Digital Asset Holdings found that 76% of financial institutions intend to invest in tokenised securities, citing benefits such as lower costs and faster settlements. However, the absence of institutional-grade infrastructure remains a key barrier to broader adoption. The partnership will address this by delivering solutions such as cross-chain tokenised real-world assets, onchain net asset value (NAV) reporting for funds, and payment versus payment (PvP) for cross-border FX transactions.

Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), SmartData, and Proof of Reserve will play a central role in enabling secure, compliant, and transparent digital asset operations. The two organisations have previously collaborated under Singapore’s Project Guardian, further demonstrating their capability to develop institutional-grade blockchain solutions.

Marex Expands Asia-Pacific Presence with Launch of China Internationalised Futures Contracts

Marex Group plc has begun offering clients direct access to China Internationalised Futures Contracts, enabling electronic execution and clearing across 24 futures and options products. The offering covers contracts from the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, Dalian Commodity Exchange and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, spanning agricultural commodities, energy, metals and freight. This follows Marex’s approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to operate as an Overseas Intermediary.

The new connectivity is designed to support growing demand from corporates and exporters seeking to manage long-term risk exposure and improve price discovery in Chinese domestic commodities. It also aligns with Marex’s strategy to broaden its services and geographic footprint, building on the recent opening of its Hong Kong office. Chinese commodity derivatives have been accessible to international participants since 2018, with volumes representing over half of global commodity contracts traded in early 2025, according to the Futures Industry Association.

ASIC Proposes Modernised Market Integrity Rules for Trading Systems and AI

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released a consultation on proposed updates to its market integrity rules (MIRs) for trading systems and automated trading. The reforms are designed to reflect technological advances, including the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI), while streamlining requirements across securities and futures markets. The changes aim to align Australian regulations with international best practice and principles set by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

ASIC noted that algorithmic trading dominates activity in domestic markets, comprising around 85% of equities trading, 94% of SPI 200 futures trading and 46% of three-year Treasury bond futures trading. With automated systems now central to trading, order management and surveillance, ASIC emphasised the importance of safeguards to mitigate risks, particularly during periods of market volatility.

Under the proposals, participants would be required to strengthen development, testing, monitoring and control of trading algorithms, including the introduction of ‘kill switches’ to suspend problematic activity. ASIC also plans to repeal outdated rules and reduce regulatory complexity, including removing the requirement for annual notifications on automated order processing. A conditional class no-action position will be provided for securities participants in respect of notifications due from November 2025.

CFTC Deploys Nasdaq Market Surveillance Technology to Strengthen Market Integrity

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has adopted Nasdaq’s Market Surveillance platform to enhance its monitoring and fraud detection capabilities across derivatives markets. The move replaces the agency’s outdated 1990s system and delivers on Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham’s March pledge to modernise surveillance infrastructure. Nasdaq’s technology, already used by over 50 exchanges and 20 regulators worldwide, will provide the CFTC with advanced tools to safeguard market integrity.

The CFTC oversees a wide range of markets, including commodities, fixed income, currencies, crypto assets, and event-based products. With new challenges such as continuous trading hours and rapid growth in digital assets, the upgraded system will provide scalable, real-time monitoring and integrated oversight. Nasdaq’s platform allows detection of manipulation patterns across asset classes, detailed transaction-level analysis, and automated alerts. Its flexible architecture also offers access to order book data, supporting effective oversight during periods of heightened volatility.

Archax Secures Strategic Investment from Stellar Development Foundation to Advance RWA Tokenisation

Archax, the UK-regulated digital asset exchange, broker and custodian, has formed a strategic partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), which includes a direct investment from SDF. The collaboration aims to strengthen Archax’s mission of bridging traditional finance with blockchain, leveraging Stellar’s layer-one network to expand tokenisation opportunities.

Archax has already integrated Stellar into its tokenisation engine and platform, recently completing projects such as tokenising an Aberdeen Money Market Fund. Through its established network of financial institutions, Archax plans to introduce more tokenised real-world assets (RWAs) onto the Stellar blockchain.

The partnership comes amid rapid growth in the tokenisation market, which has risen from $15.2 billion in December 2024 to over $24 billion by June 2025. Archax is also working with Lloyds Bank and Aberdeen Asset Management to enable tokenised money-market funds to be used as collateral for FX trades through its Nest collateral transfer network.

CITGO Petroleum Implements Behavox Platform for Regulatory Archiving and Communications Surveillance

Behavox, the AI-powered communications surveillance provider, has announced that CITGO Petroleum Corporation has gone live with its platform for Regulatory Archiving and Communications Surveillance. CITGO, a major U.S.-based oil refiner, adopted the solution to strengthen its compliance programme and address evolving regulatory risks.

With the new platform, CITGO gains access to AI-driven risk policies, high-quality alerts, and advanced testing tools aimed at improving both protection and operational efficiency. Behavox deployed a dedicated implementation team to ensure rapid onboarding while minimising the workload for CITGO’s staff.

The launch highlights Behavox’s growing presence in the energy and commodities sector, where more organisations are seeking intelligent, scalable solutions to meet complex compliance requirements and operational challenges.

FIX Publishes MMT 5.0 to Support Readiness for the European Consolidated Tape

The FIX Trading Community has released Market Model Typology (MMT) 5.0 to help firms prepare for the pending European consolidated tape. MMT is the independent industry data standard for classifying trades across European capital markets, enabling consistent interpretation of published transactions and supporting clean, transparent market data. FIX Executive Director Jim Kaye said FIX’s independent, industry-run governance ensures MMT reflects the needs of all market participants.

Developed in 2012 by the Federation of European Securities Exchanges and handed to FIX in 2013, MMT is now used by all major European trading infrastructure venues and the majority of market participants. FIX’s MMT Steering Committee has worked with European regulators since 2013 to keep the standard aligned with evolving regulations and user requirements, underpinning market efficiency and transparency.

MMT 5.0 addresses the revised post-trade transparency requirements of MiFIR RTS 1 and RTS 2 and introduces additional voluntary flags. These optional fields are designed to further enhance transparency for users seeking deeper insight into European capital markets.

XTX Markets Commissions YIT for Second Kajaani Data Centre Build, but Long Term Plans Remain Uncertain

Algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets has signed an agreement with YIT Corporation for the construction of a second data centre at its Kajaani campus in Finland. The project will see YIT deliver the shell and core of the facility, continuing its work from XTX’s first data centre on the site. The contract value has not been disclosed.

While construction is set to begin, XTX noted that its longer-term campus expansion plans remain uncertain due to proposed changes in electricity taxation. Chief Operating Officer Mike Irwin highlighted the strong partnership with YIT and the progress of the company’s data centre strategy, but stressed the need for policy clarity before committing to future development phases. XTX expressed hope for continued collaboration with Finnish partners once the investment outlook is resolved.

SIX Expands Use of Pico’s Corvil Analytics to Enhance Market Data Monitoring

Pico, the global provider of technology services, software, data and analytics, has announced that SIX, the global financial data and infrastructure provider, is expanding its integration of Pico’s Corvil Analytics to include monitoring across its financial information business. Corvil Analytics delivers real-time monitoring of price data without performance loss, offering capabilities such as gap detection, latency tracking, and microburst analytics.

Previously applied to SIX’s exchange operations, this broader adoption aims to strengthen its oversight of high-volume, low-latency data flows across multiple market sources to help identify data integrity issues and support faster issue resolution for SIX’s operations.