The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has completed its first-ever blockchain-powered fundraising, marking a landmark moment in the modernization of traditional financial markets. The transaction enabled reinsurance asset manager MembersCap to raise capital for a private fund entirely through LSEG’s newly developed digital markets infrastructure.
What makes this deal particularly significant is its end-to-end execution on blockchain. Unlike most blockchain experiments in finance that focus on one element—such as settlement or custody—LSEG’s platform handled the entire fundraising process, from issuance to trading and settlement, on a single digital ledger.
“For private markets in particular, the existing process is very manual, it’s very costly, and it sometimes takes up to 40–50 days for settlement. We are creating infrastructure for the 21st century,” said Darko Hajdukovic, head of digital markets infrastructure at LSEG. By contrast, the blockchain-based system promises near-instant settlement, slashing weeks off transaction timelines while simultaneously improving transparency.
The project was developed in partnership with Microsoft, which owns a 4% stake in LSEG. Leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT), the exchange hopes to not only enhance efficiency but also position itself as a frontrunner in the growing race to bring blockchain innovation into the heart of traditional finance.
TradFi Meets Blockchain
Although LSEG is the first major global exchange to complete an end-to-end blockchain-powered capital raise, it is far from alone in experimenting with this technology. Banks, asset managers, and exchanges worldwide have been increasingly exploring blockchain and tokenization as tools to overhaul outdated financial infrastructure. By digitizing assets and embedding them into blockchain systems, institutions aim to cut costs, improve liquidity, and create 24/7 markets that can operate without the friction of legacy systems.
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, recently underscored the potential of tokenization: “Tokenisation will revolutionise investing. Markets wouldn’t need to close. Transactions that currently take days would clear in seconds.” His statement reflects a growing consensus across the financial industry that blockchain has the power to reshape capital markets as fundamentally as electronic trading did in the 1990s.
A First Step, but a Big One
For now, LSEG’s blockchain debut remains a proof of concept, executed on a private fund rather than in the high-volume public markets. Still, the move signals intent: London, long a hub for financial innovation, is positioning itself at the forefront of blockchain adoption within regulated finance.
If successful, the model could expand beyond private fundraisings to bonds, equities, and other instruments, providing a template for how traditional finance can evolve in a digital-first world.
As settlement times shrink from weeks to seconds and transparency increases, the line between crypto-native innovations and legacy finance may blur further. With the London Stock Exchange taking this bold step, the blockchain era in mainstream markets may be closer than many think.
