Nomura invests in Fnality institutional blockchain payment platform – Ledger Insights
Today, Nomura announced an investment in Fnality, the interbank payment and settlement platform that uses blockchain technology and is now supported by 17 major financial institutions.
Fnality, formerly known as Utility Settlement Coin, symbolizes money deposited into a central bank to enable the settlement of DLT-based transactions with digital currency on the chain. It is expected to launch its first currency, the British pound, next month as it has been formally recognized as a payment system by HM Treasury. Other planned currencies are the euro, US dollar, Japanese yen and Canadian dollar.
Reiterating this plan today, Fnality CEO Rohomaios Ram said: “We at Fnality are delighted to draw on Nomura’s extensive experience in capital markets across Japan, the US and Europe as we expand beyond the UK.” Sources have told Ledger Insights that Fnality is advancing its digital euro work, as evidenced by an investment from Euroclear earlier this year. And Fnality was a participant in the recent launch of DTCC’s Project Ion for US securities settlement.
Nomura is the fourth Japanese institution to join Fnality after Mizuho, MUFG and SMBC. Japan is also a country that is one of the most advanced when it comes to issuing security tokens. As this develops, the need for settlement with cash on the ledger in central bank money will become more urgent.
Fnality is currently in the process of raising a £50 million ($54 million) Series B funding after raising the same amount in 2019.
“The transformation of financial services driven by blockchain technology is clearly accelerating, and we believe Fnality is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the significant opportunities this development presents,” said Angel Issa, Nomura’s global head of corporate development and strategic investments.
“We look forward to leveraging Fnality’s technology and expertise to continue to deliver differentiated value to our customers and partners globally.”
Meanwhile, Nomura has been active in blockchain and capital markets for years, founding Boostry, which owns a tokenization platform used for bonds and other instruments. In addition, it recently launched a digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital Holdings, in Switzerland.
The full list of Fnality investors are Banco Santander, Bank of New York Mellon, Barclays, CIBC, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, Euroclear, ING, KBC Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Mizuho, MUFG Group, Nasdaq, Nomura, SMBC, State Street and UBS.
