Nivaura, a London-based cryptocurrency platform that issues and administers corporate bonds, has received an undisclosed amount from the London Stock Exchange. The exchange led a funding round which attracted investments worth 20 million U.S dollars.

As reported by Reuters, the amount invested by the London Stock Exchange made for a minority stake in the cryptocurrency platform. Nivaura is hailed as the first firm to issue crypto-denominated bonds settled using the blockchain technology.

Others who participated in Nivaura’s funding round include the venture capital arm of Santander, Santander InnoVentures and Linklaters and Orrick, a law firm.

Nikhil Rathi, the head of international development at the London Stock Exchange, said that the investment will help the exchange “leverage technology to develop new products, boost efficiency and support growth.”

According to Reuters:

The investment by the LSEG [London Stock Exchange Group] is the latest in a small but growing trend of major financial firms embracing blockchain-related technologies, party in the expectation they will upend issuance, settlement, and trading processes in the financial sector.

With the issuance of bonds being expensive due to the hurdles that must be passed, the cryptocurrency platform is optimistic it can reduce the time involved by close to 80 percent. By tokenizing bonds and equities, the cryptocurrency platform would break the barriers hindering small companies accessing capital from the capital markets.

Avtar Sehra, CEO, Naivaura, noted that the cryptocurrency platform is gearing up on major projects in 2019 as they seek to address the rising appetite shown by leading financial institutions who want “practical innovations”

This is not the first time the London Stock Exchange is getting involved with crypto-focused firms. At the beginning of last month, the exchange said that it has allowed a virtual currency exchange in Hong Kong to use its scalable and low latency matching engine.

Do you think traditional financial institutions will continue to build associations with crypto/blockchain-affiliated firms to benefit from the technology?

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