United Fintech snaps up FX risk and data services firm Cobalt
United Fintech has acquired Cobalt, a foreign exchange (FX) and digital asset risk and data services provider, for an undisclosed sum.
United Fintech acquires Cobalt
It is the fintech conglomerate’s fifth acquisition since launching in 2020. The deal will see Cobalt join FairXchange, TTMZero, Athena Systems and NetDania under the United Fintech banner.
Founded in 2015, Cobalt provides core shared ledger infrastructure for banks offering FX trading and digital asset services, leveraging blockchain-derived concepts to create a single, shared view of every transaction.
Maintaining a shared view of every transaction does away with the need for reconciliation across silos and multiple systems, allowing FX traders to reduce credit risk.
Cobalt’s current customer base includes top tier banks such as Deutsche Bank, Citi Bank, Barclays, BNP, NatWest, ABN Amro and Standard Chartered Bank.
United Fintech will absorb Cobalt, its clients and employees while Cobalt will continue to operate as a standalone company under United Fintech.
United Fintech CEO and founder, Christian Frahm, will be appointed as the new chairman of Cobalt, and Cobalt’s co-founder and chief product officer (CPO) Andrew Coyne and CEO Darren Coote will continue to lead the business.
Frahm says: “Foreign exchange is a core part of a bank’s infrastructure today. In the future I’m convinced digital assets will become a key asset class in the sophisticated money management space, while financial institutions and banks will need a high level of expertise and know-how to thrive in the coming digital banking era.”
