The new development aims to support institutional digital asset trading by enabling firms to deliver messages and interact with a broad spectrum of tokenized assets, GLOBAL TRADING can reveal.
“Having witnessed the crucial role played by FIX in supporting the growth of electronic trading over the last 20 years, I am truly excited by this announcement,” said Mike Powell, CEO of FIX connectivity solutions provider Rapid Addition, speaking exclusively to Global Trading.
The partnership will allow firms to interact with a broad spectrum of tokenized assets from carbon credits and renewable energy products to real-world assets such as real estate, infrastructure, and collectibles, via a FIX-native blockchain adapter powered by the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).
“Standards are fundamental to enabling a dynamic trading ecosystem, supporting innovation by providing the glue that allows counterparties to seamlessly interact,” said Powell.
“Chainlink recognises this and the CCIP initiative is leading the way in cross-chain interoperability in the world of digital assets. As institutional investors and traditional capital market firms increasingly engage in the digital marketplace, partnerships such as Rapid Addition and Chainlink can help reduce the cost and complexity of adoption, bridging Trad-fi and De-fi by enabling organisations to leverage existing trading technology as they take advantage of new investment opportunities.”
By utilizing the initial recommendations of FIX’s recently launched digital assets and technology committee, initial designs suggest that the combination of Chainlink CCIP’s blockchain abstraction APIs and Rapid Addition’s platform into an institutional blockchain adapter make it possible to securely connect FIX industry protocols to smart contracts, unlocking new possibilities for digital asset trading.
“The key to institutional adoption of these new asset types lies in the effective interoperability between traditional systems and blockchain technology, which is why we’re so excited to announce this partnership between Rapid Addition and Chainlink,” said Vince Turcotte, business development lead, Asia Pacific for Chainlink Labs. “Combining Chainlink CCIP with Rapid Addition’s FIX platform lowers the technical barriers of entry to new trading venues, buy-side participants, and brokers for digital assets.”
While blockchain processes differ significantly from current trading and settlement operations, FIX can play an important role in ‘on-ramp/off-ramp’ to existing environments, enabling institutions to accelerate their participation in digital asset trading without the need for wholesale technology and infrastructure change.
“In parallel to the work being done by FIX Protocol Limited’s Digital Asset Working Group, our aim is to support the industry’s investment in FIX and accelerate firms ability to adapt to the rapidly evolving opportunities of tokenization and digital assets,” explained Powell.
Jim Kaye, executive director of FIX Trading Community, highlighted the important role of the FIX technology committee, adding: “We’re delighted to see the adoption of the valuable work FIX has recently begun in the digital asset space. Chainlink and Rapid Addition are key to these initiatives as new trading models and technologies emerge.”
Global Trading is proud to be the official publication of the FIX Trading Community.
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