Tuesday 22 February 2022 2:45 pm | Updated: Tuesday 22 February 2022 6:41 pm

London Stock Exchange dives into crypto trading with $325m Tora deal

Redx Pharma is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM.

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has inked a deal to snap up Tora in an effort to expand its digital asset trading capabilities.

Founded in 2004, Tora offers trading technology solutions, for customers trading equities, fixed income, FX, derivatives and – crucially – digital assets.

LSEG today said the £239m purchase will provide it with digital asset trading capabilities, strengthening its presence in a rapidly expanding asset class “at a time when institutional market participants are increasing their exposure to crypto and other digital assets.”

Dean Berry, the head of Trading & Banking Solutions, called the purchase “an important extension of our global Trading business.”

Tora will sit within the company’s trading and data analysis divisions. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the year, will give asset managers and traders access to crypto trading venues through LSEG software.

“This acquisition is a great example of LSEG’s strategy to provide customers with a global, multi-asset class financial infrastructure that operates across the capital markets and investment lifecycle as an open ecosystem,” said Andrea Stone, the head of data and analytics for the LSEG.

The LSEG has been closely watching developments in the crypto markets. LSEG’s owner, the FTSE Russell, revealed to Morning Wire that it intends to develop a digital asset index this year to sit alongside the benchmark FTSE 100 and Russell 2000 indices.