Axoni

# Axoni: Rebuilding Capital Markets Infrastructure Through Distributed Ledger Technology

High-Level Overview

Axoni is a New York-based capital markets technology firm that builds distributed ledger infrastructure and real-time data replication solutions for the world's largest financial institutions.[1][2] The company's core mission is to solve the pervasive data synchronization problem that plagues global capital markets—a challenge that costs the industry tens of billions annually in reconciliation efforts, operational risk, and inefficiency.

Rather than building consumer-facing applications, Axoni operates at the foundational layer of financial infrastructure, providing what it calls a "de facto protocol for sharing data in financial markets."[2] The company serves major institutions including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), enabling them to maintain a continuously synchronized "golden record" of transactions across complex, multi-party workflows.[5] Axoni's platform delivers provably accurate data in real-time, allowing clients to reduce operational risk, cut costs, and unlock new opportunities for data analytics while moving beyond the constraints of legacy systems.

Origin Story

Axoni emerged from the vision of brothers Greg and Jeff Schvey, who were introduced to early-stage cryptocurrency investors in October 2013.[5] Greg brought deep expertise as a former debt capital markets specialist at Citi, while Jeff contributed technical prowess as a former missile engineer at Raytheon. Together, they possessed the rare combination of institutional finance knowledge and advanced technical capability that would prove essential to their mission.

The brothers initially founded TheGenesisBlock, a cryptocurrency trading and research venture, in 2013.[5] However, recognizing the massive inefficiencies embedded in post-trade processing—an industry spending approximately $55 billion annually—they pivoted their focus. In 2014, they spun out Axoni as a dedicated capital markets infrastructure company, creating a clear separation between blockchain software applications (Axoni) and digital currency operations (TradeBlock).[5] This strategic pivot proved prescient: by 2016, Axoni had already secured major pilot wins with DTCC and other tier-one institutions, demonstrating that blockchain technology could solve real, pressing problems in institutional finance rather than remaining confined to speculative cryptocurrency trading.

Early traction came rapidly. In 2016, the company announced an engagement with ICAP's Post Trade Risk division to optimize foreign exchange workflows, and seven major firms—including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan—successfully tested Axoni's blockchain technology for managing post-trade lifecycle events in credit default swaps.[2] By 2017, eleven firms completed a pilot for equity swap transactions, leading to the launch of Veris, Axoni's permissioned ledger network for equity swaps.[2] This progression from concept to production deployment across multiple asset classes established Axoni as a credible, mission-critical infrastructure provider.

Core Differentiators

AxCore Technology Foundation

Axoni's competitive advantage rests on AxCore, its proprietary distributed ledger infrastructure that serves as the underlying framework for seamless data sharing and synchronization between systems and institutions.[3] Unlike public blockchains designed for decentralized consensus, AxCore is purpose-built for capital markets, maintaining the privacy, scalability, and auditability requirements of institutional finance while enabling real-time data replication across entire markets.

Full-Stack Solution Architecture

The company doesn't simply offer blockchain infrastructure; it provides a complete ecosystem encompassing blockchain networks, distributed applications, smart contracts, and analytics tools.[4] This full-stack approach means clients can deploy sophisticated financial workflow solutions without managing multiple vendors or integrating disparate technologies—a significant operational advantage in an industry plagued by system fragmentation.

Deep Institutional Partnerships

Axoni's board and investor base reflect its embedded position within capital markets infrastructure. Board members include C Thomas Richardson (Head of Market Structure at Wells Fargo Securities), Larry Leibowitz (former COO and Head of Global Equities Markets at NYSE Euronext), and Brian Zboril (leading CME Ventures).[8] These relationships provide both credibility and direct access to the decision-makers who control capital markets infrastructure spending.

Proven Track Record Across Asset Classes

The company has successfully deployed solutions across credit default swaps, equity swaps, foreign exchange, and corporate bond issuance—demonstrating versatility and the ability to solve synchronization problems across diverse market segments.[2] This multi-asset-class presence reduces concentration risk and positions Axoni as a platform rather than a point solution.

Industry Recognition

Axoni has received validation from prestigious industry bodies: Risk.net named it "OpRisk Innovation of the Year," A-Team Group recognized it as "Most Innovative Data Quality Initiative" and "Most Innovative North American Data Management Provider," and Forbes included it on its Fintech 50 list.[7]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Axoni sits at the intersection of three powerful trends reshaping financial infrastructure: the digital transformation of capital markets, the maturation of distributed ledger technology beyond cryptocurrency speculation, and the rising cost of operational complexity in legacy systems.

The Data Synchronization Crisis

Capital markets infrastructure remains fundamentally fragmented. Trading counterparties operate proprietary systems that were never designed to communicate seamlessly with external parties, creating what Axoni identifies as "one of the most pervasive and costly problems in capital markets."[2] Despite endless layers of manual and automated reconciliation processes, data synchronization failures remain endemic, stemming from synchronization loss, mistranslation, and data integrity issues. This isn't a niche problem—it's a systemic inefficiency affecting trillions of dollars in daily transaction volume.

Blockchain Maturation Beyond Cryptocurrency

When Axoni was founded in 2013-2014, institutional finance was deeply skeptical of blockchain technology, with many institutions actively lobbying against emerging blockchain players in Washington.[5] The company's early success in securing DTCC pilots and major bank participation helped legitimize distributed ledger technology as a serious infrastructure solution rather than a speculative asset class. Axoni has effectively decoupled blockchain from cryptocurrency in the minds of institutional decision-makers, positioning it as a neutral technology for solving coordination problems.

Market Forces Accelerating Adoption

The regulatory environment has shifted in Axoni's favor. Post-2008 financial crisis regulations increased compliance and reconciliation burdens, making the cost of legacy infrastructure increasingly untenable. Simultaneously, the rise of real-time settlement requirements and the push toward T+0 or T+1 settlement cycles demand infrastructure that can handle instantaneous data synchronization—precisely what Axoni delivers. The company's 2024 sale of its Veris equity swaps network to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) signals that institutional infrastructure providers are consolidating around proven distributed ledger solutions.[4]

Ecosystem Influence

By establishing itself as the de facto protocol for data sharing in capital markets, Axoni influences how the entire ecosystem thinks about infrastructure modernization. Its success validates the broader thesis that blockchain technology, when applied to institutional problems rather than consumer speculation, can deliver genuine operational value and cost savings.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Axoni has accomplished something remarkable: it has taken a technology born in cryptocurrency speculation and embedded it into the operational backbone of global capital markets. The company's trajectory from a 2013 startup to a trusted infrastructure provider serving DTCC, major global banks, and now LSEG demonstrates that there is enormous value in solving unglamorous but expensive institutional problems.

Looking forward, several dynamics will shape Axoni's evolution. First, the company faces the challenge of scaling from pilot programs and niche deployments to becoming the dominant standard across capital markets. This requires not just technical excellence but also the ability to navigate complex institutional politics and achieve network effects—where the value of the platform increases as more participants join.

Second, regulatory clarity around distributed ledger technology in financial markets will accelerate adoption. As regulators develop frameworks specifically for blockchain-based settlement and clearing, Axoni's existing relationships with DTCC and major exchanges position it to become the infrastructure layer of choice.

Third, the company's recent strategic moves—including the LSEG partnership—suggest a potential path toward either acquisition by a major exchange or clearing house, or toward an eventual public offering as a critical infrastructure provider. Either path would validate the thesis that institutional blockchain infrastructure represents a genuine, durable market opportunity.

The broader implication is that Axoni's success challenges the narrative that blockchain technology is primarily a consumer or speculative asset. Instead, it demonstrates that the most valuable applications of distributed ledger technology may be invisible to the public—embedded in the plumbing of financial markets, eliminating billions in annual waste and risk. In a world where capital markets infrastructure remains stubbornly inefficient despite decades of technological advancement, Axoni represents a genuine inflection point: the moment when institutional finance finally embraced the tools necessary to rebuild itself from the ground up.