The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is making significant strides in transforming the financial landscape through a range of digital solutions. In recent developments, the organization has unveiled plans to enhance its Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI) with on-chain settlement capabilities and a strategic partnership to streamline access to private funds.

These initiatives now aim to bridge traditional and digital finance, seeking greater efficiency, transparency, and global connectivity for institutional players.

LSEG’s strategy is to introduce the Digital Securities Depository (DSD), a system that aims to enable on-chain settlement for institutional market participants.

Set to roll out its initial phase in 2026, pending regulatory approvals, this builds on LSEG’s existing DMI framework, which leverages Microsoft Azure’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) to tokenize and distribute funds.

The DSD emphasizes interoperability, allowing seamless interactions across various blockchain networks and traditional settlement systems.

This setup aims to boost liquidity in areas such as fixed income, equities, and private markets, and to support the tokenization of most bonds and securities in the future.

By compressing settlement times and minimizing operational risks, it aims to make capital raising and management more agile.

While specific members are yet to be fully disclosed, early indications point to involvement from major institutions such as Barclays, Brookfield, Lloyds, NatWest Markets, Standard Chartered, and State Street.

The move is seen as a catalyst for institutional adoption of tokenized assets – or digital securities.

LSEG has partnered with Apex Group to integrate private funds into the DMI ecosystem, creating a comprehensive digital distribution pathway.

The collaboration integrates Apex’s Digital Liquidity & Distribution Service with LSEG’s platform, offering fund managers a unified gateway to efficiently manage investor relationships.

Apex, managing over $3.5 trillion in assets, becomes a service provider to link with DMI, enabling funds to reach over 400,000 users through LSEG’s Workspace while preserving privacy and investor eligibility.

Blockchain tech is used for scalability, and future enhancements could incorporate AI and additional connectivity.

Leaders from both organizations emphasize how this setup addresses longstanding gaps in private markets, such as inefficient investor aggregation, and sets the stage for innovative infrastructure that connects managers, institutions, and wealth platforms globally.