LSEG Begins Rollout of Blockchain-Powered Digital Markets Infrastructure Platform

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has begun the rollout of its blockchain-powered Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI) platform, starting with private funds.

The DMI platform supports the full asset lifecycle, including issuance, tokenization, distribution, post-trade asset settlement and servicing, across multiple asset classes, the company said in a Monday (Sept. 15) press release.

The platform brings together participants from across the international market within a regulated environment, enables general partners to interact at scale with professional investors and allows investors to discover, analyze and access private market opportunities, according to the release.

LSEG plans to expand the DMI platform beyond private funds to add other asset classes, the release said.

“At LSEG we are committed to significantly improving access to private markets, by streamlining workflows, enhancing distribution and enabling liquidity,” Darko Hajdukovic, head of digital markets infrastructure at LSEG, said in the release. “We intend to do this by continually working with all stakeholders to enhance efficiencies and connectivity for both digitally-native and traditional assets.”

The DMI platform is built on Microsoft Azure, and LSEG and Microsoft will continue to collaborate to develop and scale it, per the release.

Bill Borden, corporate vice president, worldwide financial services at Microsoft, said in the release: “Together, we’re reshaping the future of global finance to empower our customers to unlock new opportunities and drive meaningful change.”

It was reported in September 2023 that LSEG planned to launch a blockchain-based digital markets business and become the first major exchange offering blockchain-based trading of traditional financial assets.

A company representative said at the time that LSEG sought to keep the process regulated while also making it “slicker, smoother, cheaper and more transparent.”

On Sept. 8, it was reported that Nasdaq filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow trading of stocks and exchange-traded products on its main electronic platform in “either traditional digital or tokenized form.”

If approved, it would be the first time tokenized securities were allowed to trade on a major U.S. stock exchange and would represent the most ambitious attempt yet by a U.S. exchange operator to bring blockchain-based settlement into the national market system.