CMC Markets Executes Tokenised Share Trade in the UK

CMC Markets, a global leader in online trading for retail, professional and institutional clients, has successfully completed the private placement of a shareholding in the UK using distributed-ledger technology (DLT). The use of a digital token to represent the shareholding marks a new phase in the company’s digital strategy. 

The project, delivered by CMC CapX and powered by StrikeX, was intended as a proof-of-concept to show how DLT (also known as blockchain technology) can be used with existing UK client-asset rules to safely move securities between investors. It involved a hybrid shareholding that took traditional, certificated form, together with a token that mirrored the entry in the issuer’s shareholder register. 

In the trial, CMC CapX, the corporate broking arm of CMC Markets, facilitated the placement of the hybrid shareholding. StrikeX acted for the issuer to create the mirror token, reflecting the shareholding, on the Arbitrum Layer 2 blockchain. The token was held by CMC Markets Investments Limited, as custodian for the investor, using a digital wallet.

Laurence Booth, Global Head of Capital Markets at CMC Markets, said: “This project is a significant step in our digital strategy. With StrikeX, we are embarking on a plan to tokenise securities and derivatives markets, so that investors can trade 24/7. This collaboration between CMC CapX and StrikeX demonstrates the possibilities for services we can offer to issuers and professional investors. We will go further and create marketplaces that leverage the new technology and create new opportunities for investors, as well.”

Joe Jowett, CEO of StrikeX, said: “This marks a key step forward, moving from internal testing to real-world execution. Our tokenisation engine has now been proven live in a Tier-1, regulated environment. While tokenisation is being trialled in many contexts, achieving it at this level with an established TradFi institution demonstrates readiness for wide-scale adoption and provides a strong foundation for a broader rollout.”