Markets infrastructure and data solutions provider TP ICAP (LON:TCAP) has announced that it is expanding its Digital Assets Platform custody network to include BitGo and Komainu, two market-leading cryptoasset custodians.

The addition of BitGo and Komainu will provide clients with a greater choice of credible, trusted custodians, which is fundamental to both the TP ICAP model and the continued growth and adoption of this asset class.  This segregated model – which enables clients to access TP ICAP’s deep pools of global liquidity whilst their assets remain under custody at their preferred custodian – provides a robust and secure solution that institutional investors require to access the asset class. Komainu and BitGo will expand the supporting custody network and provide settlement services to the new platform.

TP ICAP’s new Digital Assets Platform, which remains subject to registration with the UK Financial Conduct Authority, will feature a wholesale electronic Over The Counter (OTC) marketplace for spot cryptoasset trading, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.  The platform will additionally include post-trade infrastructure that provides straight through processing (STP) and payment netting services for executed trades into a network of digital asset custodians. Ahead of its launch, the platform has also confirmed Hudson River Trading, Susquehanna, Flow Traders, Jane Street and Virtu Financial as market makers.

To drive common standards across custodians and to facilitate settlement interoperability between members, TP ICAP established an Inter-Custodial Settlement Protocol (ICSP) Working Group that has been active since October 2020.  BitGo and Komainu have both joined this group alongside initial custodians Fidelity Digital AssetsSM and Zodia Custody.  The goal of this working group is to enable TP ICAP to match trades between customers who use different custodians and settle in an automated manner between the different participant custodians.

Duncan Trenholme, Co-Head of Digital Assets at TP ICAP, said:

“Developing a robust and automated post-trade custody network, whilst providing our clients with choice over where they store their assets, has always been a core feature of our spot platform and a key differentiator for our market model.  Adding established cryptoasset custodians of BitGo and Komainu’s calibre marks another big step forward for our cryptoasset platform.  Both market-leading custodians share our vision for the future of financial market infrastructure, and we look forward to working with them as we prepare the platform to go live.”

Sebastian Widmann, Head of Strategy at Komainu, said:

“We are excited to announce our commitment to TP ICAP in launching a wholesale trading venue for digital assets tailored to the needs of traditional financial services institutions.  Whilst we are seeing increased interest in digital assets, there are still various challenges limiting institutional adoption, including in the way new market entrants gain initial exposure and source liquidity of digital assets, which TP ICAP is addressing.  We look forward to collaborating with the entire working group to enable a next-generation custodial settlement network, allowing our clients to seamlessly trade and settle directly out of custody.”

Darren Jordan, Managing Director at BitGo, said:

“We are thrilled to announce our plans for BitGo to provide custody and settlement services to the TP ICAP wholesale trading venue for digital assets. BitGo, built on its pioneering signature technology, is the gold standard for institutions demanding the highest-level of security and compliance for their digital assets.  We believe to further the adoption of this asset class, there needs to be industry collaboration to establish the trading and settlement network for the future of finance. We look forward to building and growing this network with TP ICAP and other network participants.”

TP ICAP is required to register the TP ICAP Digital Assets Platform with the FCA under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. The company has submitted an application to the FCA, and the platform will only launch once that registration process has been completed. The FCA’s responsibility under this regime is limited to AML/CTF registration supervision and enforcement only. It is not a license from the FCA or a recommendation or endorsement of the platform.