ETPLink Raises $7M Funding Led by QRT and Jump Trading to Scale ETF Primary Market Infrastructure

ETPLink has secured a funding round led by Qube Research & Technologies and Jump Trading, bringing its total capital to $7 million. The investment addresses the growing fragmentation of the ETF primary market, providing an independent, DLT-based infrastructure to streamline creation and redemption workflows for issuers, authorised participants, and custodians across Europe and Asia-Pacific.

What was announced

ETPLink is an independent technology platform designed specifically for ETP primary market transactions. The latest funding round, which includes participation from angel investor Arnaud Llinas, will be used to accelerate technology and product development while supporting the firm’s expansion across European and Asia-Pacific markets. The platform is built on an open architecture that utilizes API-led distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts to facilitate flexible workflows and client-specific customisation.

By connecting authorised participants, issuers, transfer agents, custodians, and fund administrators, the platform aims to replace fragmented, manual processes with a shared infrastructure. This multi-asset foundation is also designed to support the development of tokenised ETFs. Implementation timelines for new clients typically range from two weeks to three months, covering the transition from proof of concept to full implementation. ETPLink reports that the platform has maintained 24/7 availability with zero downtime since its launch, supported by a 24/6 global service model.

The announcement follows a period of significant expansion for the ETF industry. In 2025, the sector saw $2.4 trillion in net inflows and the entry of 100 new issuers, pushing global assets under management past the $20 trillion mark. This rapid growth has created operational challenges for Market Makers and Authorized Participants, who must manage increasingly complex primary market executions without a standardised platform for creation and redemption.

The companies involved

ETPLink is a London-based technology provider that combines ETF market expertise with software development to build infrastructure for the primary market. The firm operates as an independent entity, focusing on reducing the operational friction that constrains ETF activity. Qube Research & Technologies (QRT) is a global quantitative investment manager that leverages technology and data-driven strategies. Jump Trading is a major global quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider, active across equities and digital assets, with a significant interest in the efficiency of market plumbing.

The funding round also brings in Arnaud Llinas, who joins the ETPLink board of directors. Llinas currently serves as an Operating Partner at BlackFin Capital Partners and was previously the Head of Lyxor and Amundi ETFs, providing the firm with deep experience from the issuer side of the market. The backing from both quantitative trading giants and established ETF specialists suggests a shift toward industry-led, neutral utilities rather than the proprietary or bank-siloed systems that have historically managed creation and redemption workflows.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously monitored the increasing integration of traditional securities with distributed ledger technology. We recently reported on how Securitize Expands Onchain U.S. Stock Offering to 25 Equities Including Disney and Uber, which highlighted the growing momentum for bringing traditional equity assets onto the blockchain. Additionally, the launch of Bullish Launches Tokenized Equity Trading on GFSC-Regulated Digital Asset Exchange underscored the technical and regulatory maturation of tokenised trading environments. These developments align with ETPLink’s focus on using DLT to modernise the primary market and prepare for the eventual rise of tokenised ETF products.

What this means

This investment marks a critical attempt to modernise the "plumbing" of the ETF market, which has lagged behind the explosive growth of the assets themselves. By securing backing from major liquidity providers like Jump Trading and QRT, ETPLink is positioning itself as a neutral industry utility. This moves the needle by addressing the reconciliation friction that currently plagues multi-party creation and redemption. Legacy service providers and bank-owned platforms are now under pressure to prove they can match the speed and transparency of a DLT-based system. The central question remains whether ETPLink can achieve the network effects necessary to displace the fragmented, manual systems that currently dominate the sector.