Corporate bond traders are challenged when searching for liquidity and executing trades without data leakage. The market lags other asset classes in the adoption of e-trading, where only 30% of volume is traded electronically.

LedgerEdge aims to deliver a better ecosystem and experience for finding corporate bond data, sharing data, and executing trades, by combining blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and secure enclave computing.

Launched by David Rutter, a pioneer in electronic fixed income trading with over 35 years of experience in building successful platforms, including BrokerTec and LiquidityEdge, which was sold last year to MarketAxess for USD $150 million. The firm will be licensed as an MTF in the UK with suitable licenses in the U.S.

The new management team compromises David Nicol (IBM/R3) as CEO, Ian Chicken (ICAP/BrokerTec) COO and Bob Bose (Santander/NYSE Euronext) as CTO.

David E. Rutter comments: "The secondary market for corporate bonds is growing and is ripe for…evolution, but existing platforms are not fit for purpose. Data is monetised by platforms and it is leaked across fragmented, opaque markets, decreasing execution quality. Working with the industry, we will build a platform that solves the challenges of locating and promoting liquidity and data ownership once and for all."

David Nicol, CEO of LedgerEdge, comments: "The fundamental desire that all traders share is to execute efficiently and effectively, with minimal data leakage. Difficult and persistent challenges such as these require a holistic approach and cross-industry collaboration. We look forward to working with the market on product validation to ensure LedgerEdge is built by the industry, for the industry."

Kevin McPartland, Head of Market Structure and Technology Research at Greenwich Associates, comments: "Illiquid areas of the corporate bond market have challenged participants for years. While increased electronic trading and new data sources have moved markets forward in this regard, challenges still remain. Innovative solutions that further expand data access while limiting information leakage will prove a key piece of the market’s next evolutionary stage."