The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has led a $20 million funding round into Nivaura – a blockchain based firm that lets companies issue and settle debt instruments on a blockchain. Financial giants have slowly been gaining interest in the blockchain world and the advantages it can bring to an old and tired system. Nivaura touts the ability to cut the cost of issuing a financial instrument by up to 80% thanks to its state-of-the-art blockchain-based platform.
Speeding Up the Listing Process
If a company or financial market maker wants to issue a new debt or financial instrument, it has to jump through a lot of hoops and processes. These processes then result in a basis point fee, which can become rather excessive when you’re holding a large amount of money in assets. Using Nivaura’s new blockchain focused system, companies can instead charge a volume-based fee, allowing everyone in the entire process to save vast amounts of money.
Big Financial Players Turning to Blockchain
In February, HSBC announced that its brand new blockchain based settlement system had managed to save the company more than 25%. Old financial systems are largely inefficient and end up costing more in fees than newer blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) based systems. As more financial giants look to streamline their businesses and cut costs, we will see more firms adopting blockchain and DLT based systems.
London Stock Exchange Lists a Crypto Mining Company
It isn’t every day that one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world lists a crypto mining company. Back in August 2018, LSE listed Argo Mining after it issued a £25 million IPO, giving it a total valuation of £47 million at the time. It was the first crypto mining firm in the world to be listed on the LSE, and remains the only one to date. This was the first sign that the LSE is looking to get its feet wet in the era of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
Nivaura’s funding round was completely subscribed, backed by other big names including Santander’s venture capital arm – InnoVentures – and investment firm Digital Currency Group. These big-name backers will help Nivaura secure new partnerships and land big clients in order to survive in this new age world. The LSE could very well use its position as a minority shareholder to look into using Nivaura’s technology to improve its own platforms and listing process – it wouldn’t be the first time we have seen this happen. Whatever happens, the future for Nivaura certainly looks bright!
