Rapid Addition And Chainlink To Expand Horizons Of Digital Asset Trading With FIX-Native Blockchain Adapter

Today, renowned FIX connectivity solutions provider, Rapid Addition, and Chainlink, the industry-standard decentralized computing platform providing core infrastructure for tokenized assets, announced their collaboration to build a FIX-native blockchain adapter for institutional digital asset trading powered by Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).

CCIP is the blockchain industry’s interoperability standard for cross-chain digital asset and data transfer. Leading DeFi protocols and decentralized exchanges as well as traditional financial institutions are integrating CCIP to unlock new use cases and markets for a growing spectrum of tokenized real-world assets onchain. Because tokenized assets confer new opportunities such as fractionalization and programmability alongside better liquidity, transparency, and risk management, the space is projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030. 

The Financial Information Exchange (FIX) electronic communications protocol was developed in 1992 to underpin financial transaction communication with a message format that aligns with global regulation across the entire spectrum of market data and pre- and post-trade transactions. A CCIP-powered FIX-native blockchain adaptor would accelerate a compliant pathway for traditional banks and financial institutions to interact with a broad spectrum of tokenized assets across a variety of chains. 

In an official announcement, Rapid Addition CEO Mike Powell highlighted the significance of CCIP’s compatibility with legacy financial systems.

“Working with Chainlink on this new capability means our clients will benefit from seamless and secure integration into blockchain-based platforms without the need to duplicate systems and controls,” he explained. “Our users require access to liquidity and post-trade services regardless of the underlying technology. As a result of this collaboration with Chainlink, financial institutions will be able to leverage their existing trading infrastructure to enter the new era of digital assets.”

Initial designs following recommendations from FIX’s recently launched digital assets and technology committee illustrate how CCIP’s blockchain abstraction APIs and Rapid Addition’s platform can be combined into an institutional blockchain adapter that seamlessly and securely connect FIX’s widely-used industry protocols to smart contracts. This would broaden the horizons for trading digital assets representing cash, debt, securities, commodities, real estate, and more. 

Jim Kaye, Executive Director of FIX Trading Community, an industry-driven organization contributing to the continuous development of the core FIX protocol, emphasized the role Chainlink and Rapid Addition play in connecting traditional finance to the tokenized asset economy. 

“We’re delighted to see the adoption of the valuable work FIX has recently begun in the digital asset space,” he said. “Chainlink and Rapid Addition are key to these initiatives as new trading models and technologies emerge.”

“The key to institutional adoption of these new asset types lies in the effective interoperability between traditional systems and blockchain technology, which is why we’re so excited to announce this partnership between Rapid Addition and Chainlink,” said Vince Turcotte, Business Development Lead, Asia Pacific for Chainlink Labs. “Combining Chainlink CCIP with Rapid Addition’s FIX platform lowers the technical barriers of entry to new trading venues, buy-side participants, and brokers for digital assets.”