Blockchain continues to prove that it may actually be a real thing and not just an annoying buzzword. This Tuesday, Cobalt, a provider of blockchain solutions for the FX industry, announced that it was partnering with BT Radianz.
The new deal will see Cobalt connecting to two important data centers, Equinix NY4 in New York and LD4 in London. This will mean Cobalt’s services are offered separately in the US and the UK.
What, I hear you ask, is this service? As with many blockchain service providers, Cobalt offers a lot of lingo but, perhaps uniquely, they also provide some substance. The firm claims it can “reduce risk and post-trade costs by up to 80% to FX participants.”
The firm states that it does this by reducing the number of trade records. Instead of each party receiving multiple records from a trade, a single, unchangeable record for each trade is created.
Cobalt blockchain
Currently, the firm’s offering is only being used by a single tier-one bank. That number is almost certain to grow, however, as a result of the new partnership with BT Radianz.
Adrian Patten, Co-Founder, Cobalt
The latter company offers one of the largest financial networks in the world. Customers range from investment banks and hedge funds to clearing houses and Stock Exchange operators.
Cobalt will be joining these companies as it starts to host its systems on BT Radianz's cloud. The goal of this clear, the firm wants to expand its institutional client base.
Adrian Patten, a Cobalt co-founder, confirmed this end goal, saying of the deal: “This will give Cobalt the scale and reach it needs on tap, backed by BT’s experience and capability of delivering solutions to large financial services organisations. It’s an ideal platform for growth and will help us achieve our aim of revolutionising the post-trade space in the biggest financial market in the world.”
