Bond Veteran Harnesses Blockchain to Digitize Credit Trading
- LedgerEdge to use blockchain to improve corporate-bond trading
- Startup has already made key hires, aims to debut next year
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Five years ago, when David Rutter launched Treasury-trading system LiquidityEdge, he already had a revamp of the corporate-bond market in his sights. After selling the platform last year for $150 million, he’s ready to tackle his biggest challenge yet.
His latest venture, called LedgerEdge, aims to use blockchain technology to further digitize a market where electronic trading has yet to breach much more than 30% of total volume, ultimately making it easier for U.S. company debt to change hands. Traders have grown fairly comfortable doing small, routine transactions via platforms like MarketAxess, Tradeweb and Trumid, but they still hit the phones when trying to buy or sell bonds in large quantities.