Elwood by Alan Howard: FCA approval for trading security tokens and derivatives

With the support of Goldman Sachs, Alan Howard’s Elwood recently obtained authorization from the FCA in the United Kingdom to provide security token and derivatives trading services. Let’s see all the details below. 

Elwood positions itself in the security token market thanks to FCA approval 

As anticipated, Elwood Technologies has obtained approval to operate as a service company from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulatory authority for financial markets in the United Kingdom.

Chris Lawn, CEO of Elwood, emphasized the importance of this approval.

In particular, indicating it as a significant step in Elwood’s mission to offer a complete, regulated, and transparent digital asset platform in the United Kingdom, one of the main global financial jurisdictions.

The FCA authorization focuses on Elwood’s execution management system for security tokens and derivatives. The platform allows Elwood’s clients to connect to both cryptocurrency exchanges and over-the-counter trading venues.

We would like to remind you that in May 2022, Elwood successfully completed a Series A funding round of $70 million, led by Goldman Sachs and Dawn Capital. 

Important actors from the financial sector also participated in the round, including Barclays, BlockFi Ventures, Chimera Ventures, CommerzVentures, Digital Currency Group, Flow Traders, and Galaxy Digital Ventures.

Elwood is primarily controlled by Alano Howard, former CEO of hedge fund Brevan Howard, who has shown significant interest and investments in the cryptocurrency sector since the end of 2020. 

In 2021, Howard launched BH Digital, a division focused on cryptocurrencies of his hedge fund, supporting numerous startups and creating new ventures in the industry.

Binance: projects for Ondo Finance with former Goldman Sachs employees

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has recently announced perpetual contract support for the new altcoin project Ondo Finance (ONDO), an initiative with strong ties to the traditional finance (TradFi) world.

Ondo Finance stands out as a project dedicated to the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), focusing its attention on short-term bonds and US Treasury securities. 

Currently, Ondo’s products are only accessible on the Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Polygon (MATIC) blockchains, with targeted investments in TradFi markets.

Such as the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF and the BlackRock Short-Term Treasury Bond Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

The leadership of Ondo, composed of President and COO Justin Schmidt and Founder and CEO Nathan Allman, both with previous experience at Goldman Sachs, is determined to position the project at the center of the integration between TradFi and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Binance has announced the availability of perpetual contracts for the native asset of Ondo, ONDO, with leverage up to 50x. Currently, the exchange has not yet introduced a spot market tool for ONDO.

Ondo Finance aims to capture the emerging value from the merger of TradFi and DeFi, stating that the future will see a convergence between the traditional finance world and the decentralized one, with public blockchain technology as its foundation.

Ondo Finance places at the center of its ambitions the creation of institutional-level products and services, pursuing the goal of being a trusted brand. 

This implies a commitment to security, transparency, legal and regulatory compliance, a carefully designed structure, and a high-level user experience globally.