Blockchain R&D firm Clearmatics has raised $12 million as it prepares for the launch of a Protocol Provider service next year to support the go-to-market of the Utility Settlement Coin Project, a consortium of 17 banks and financial institutions creating a new digital cash instrument collateralised by central bank money.
Founded in 2015 by former hedge fund manager Robert Sams (pictured), Clearmatics grew out of prior work in the Ethereum project. The company’s team has over 30 people between its headquarters in London and Silicon Valley.
Led by Route 66 Ventures, the round includes additional investment from private equity firm TNF Capital and XTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of the quantitative-driven electronic market-making firm XTX Markets.
Clearmatics majors in the design of Decentralised Clearing Networks, private, member-owned and governed networks that enable peer-to-peer transfer of financial value and automation of contractual and fiduciary operations without reliance on trusted third-parties.
The firm has previously engaged with the Bank of Engtand on research into blockchain interfaces for the revamp of the UK's real-time gross settlement network and is currently working with UBS on its Utility Settlement Coin project for the settlement of securities transactions.
Sams, Clearmatics CEO, says: "We are very excited to be working with investors who are so committed to disrupting legacy market structure through technology. This investment will enable us to create further DCNs and build a peer-to-peer ecosystem over the entire trade lifecycle, from trade execution to settlement."