NVIDIA signed memorandums of understanding with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to establish financing platforms intended to mobilise more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure. Goldman Sachs separately agreed to acquire NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion, while Nasdaq moved to expand its institutional liquidity network through the acquisition of LeveL Markets.

The week’s developments showed established financial institutions extending their reach into new assets and market structures. Clearstream moved paperless Eurobond issuance into live markets, while the FCA is reportedly exploring the use of tokenised gold as wholesale collateral. Rising activity at Securitize also showed that growth in tokenised assets and transactions has yet to produce comparable revenue growth.

Read more on the week's key developments:

1. NVIDIA partners with six investment groups to target more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure

NVIDIA announced on 10 August strategic partnerships with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to establish independent compute-financing platforms intended to mobilise more than $500 billion of third-party capital for artificial-intelligence infrastructure over time. The institutions have signed memorandums of understanding with NVIDIA to create dedicated pools of capital supporting customers building AI computing infrastructure. The partnerships remain subject to execution of final agreements.

NVIDIA is seeking to establish computing capacity as an asset that can be financed by long-duration institutional capital rather than funded only through technology companies' balance sheets. The six partners bring infrastructure, private-credit and capital-markets capabilities that could create multiple financing structures around the same underlying NVIDIA ecosystem. For lenders, the test is whether contracted cash flows and residual-value protection can cover the risk that the financed chips depreciate faster than the debt is repaid.

2. Goldman Sachs agrees to acquire NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion

Goldman Sachs agreed on 12 August to acquire NEOS Investments for consideration of up to $2.25 billion in cash and equity, subject to performance or service commitments. NEOS manages $30 billion across 19 options-based income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Goldman said the combination would give Goldman Sachs Asset Management about $80 billion in active ETF assets within a roughly $130 billion global ETF platform. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

NEOS would contribute roughly 38% of the combined $80 billion active ETF platform Goldman expects after completion, making the acquisition material rather than a bolt-on. Together with its earlier Innovator Capital Management acquisition, Goldman is using acquired franchises to build scale in derivatives-based income and outcome-oriented ETFs. The execution challenge shifts from creating products to retaining assets, integrating distribution and generating organic flows across the enlarged platform.

3. Nasdaq agrees to acquire LeveL Markets as it builds Digital Liquidity Networks

Nasdaq announced on 11 August a definitive agreement to acquire LeveL Markets, a US alternative trading system (ATS) that processes hundreds of millions of shares daily and reaches more than 2,500 buy- and sell-side clients. LeveL executes across more than 7,000 symbols each day, serves more than 300 institutional buy-side firms and recorded 56% year-on-year growth in average daily volume in 2025. Following completion, it will operate within Nasdaq’s Digital Liquidity Networks division while retaining dedicated management and structural separation.

LeveL gives Nasdaq an established institutional liquidity network as off-exchange trades exceeded half of US equity volume for the first time in 2025. ATSs accounted for only 18.7% of that off-exchange volume, however, leaving the segment fragmented despite LeveL’s position as the third-largest US ATS by trading volume. The acquisition also comes as Nasdaq prepares to extend equity trading to 23 hours a day, alongside similar initiatives from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Cboe Global Markets.

4. Clearstream completes first paperless ICSD issuance under new Eurobond model

Clearstream completed an EUR 50 million ($57.6 million) Euro-Commercial Paper issuance on 7 August using the dematerialised Eurobond model introduced with Euroclear in March. Clearstream Banking acted as issuer, Deutsche Bank as issuing and paying agent, UBS Investment Bank as dealer and Citigroup Global Markets as arranger. Clearstream described the transaction as the first paperless international central securities depository (ICSD) issuance, with an electronic record replacing the physical global note traditionally created and stored for the security.

Paperless issuance removes several physical steps embedded in conventional Eurobond issuance, including producing and signing a global note and placing it in secure storage. The transaction shows that the joint Clearstream-Euroclear model can support live issuance in the EUR 15.3 trillion Eurobond market. Broader adoption will be tested from November, when eligible non-UK issuers can use the structure for English-law debt.

5.  FCA considers tokenised gold for use as wholesale collateral

The Financial Conduct Authority is exploring how tokenised gold could be used as collateral in wholesale financial markets and has discussed the issue with industry participants, including major banks. The discussions come alongside broader FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority plans to set out policy on how tokenised collateral can operate within the existing regulatory framework. London accounts for about 70% of global bullion trading, according to the World Gold Council.

Tokenisation could make claims on physical gold easier to transfer and integrate into collateral and settlement workflows without changing the underlying asset. For London, the issue is also competitive because Shanghai and Hong Kong are expanding their roles in bullion trading. The work remains early-stage, however: no regulatory standard has yet been published and no institutional collateral volumes have been disclosed.

6. TP ICAP raises Global Broking revenue as transformation programme accelerates

TP ICAP reported first-half group revenue of GBP 1.292 billion ($1.74 billion), up 8% at constant currency. Global Broking revenue increased 11% to GBP 783 million ($1.06 billion), while Parameta Solutions revenue rose 6% to GBP 102 million ($137.7 million). The group said its transformation programme was progressing a year ahead of schedule, with at least GBP 50 million ($67.5 million) of annualised savings now expected by the end of 2026.

Global Broking expanded faster than the group overall while TP ICAP accelerated its savings programme, improving the prospect that stronger activity will translate into higher margins rather than being absorbed entirely by the expense base. Parameta's continued growth also gives TP ICAP a recurring data business alongside transaction-driven broking revenue, creating a more diversified earnings model than traditional interdealer broking alone.

7. Securitize transaction volumes rise sharply as quarterly loss widens

Securitize reported second-quarter revenue of $14.4 million, down 5% year on year, and a $21.7 million net loss, compared with $6.1 million a year earlier. Average tokenised assets under management reached $4.3 billion, while aggregate transaction volume rose 147% to $5.3 billion. The company said approximately $5 billion of assets were managed on blockchain infrastructure by the time of the results announcement. Securitize made its New York Stock Exchange debut in July.

The divergence between transaction activity and financial performance is more informative than asset growth alone. Transaction volume more than doubled while revenue declined, showing that greater blockchain activity has not yet translated proportionately into monetisation. For institutional tokenisation providers, that shifts the benchmark away from headline assets on-chain toward recurring servicing income, transaction monetisation and the cost required to support growing transaction volumes.

8. HashKey becomes authorised distributor for Anchorpoint's regulated HKDAP stablecoin

HashKey Exchange and Anchorpoint Financial announced on 12 August that HashKey had joined HKDAP Beta Access as an authorised distributor of Anchorpoint's regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. Eligible institutions and professional investors can access HKDAP through HashKey's platform and other supported channels. HashKey also said it had completed its own first HKDAP minting and redemption transaction with eligible clients, including fiat on- and off-ramp capabilities.

The first completed minting and redemption moves the initiative beyond licensing and distribution planning, but of note is the separation between issuance and market access. Anchorpoint provides regulated tokenised money while HashKey supplies distribution, platform access and fiat conversion, resembling the division of roles found in conventional financial infrastructure. To date, neither HKDAP circulation nor transaction values or institutional-user numbers have been disclosed, limiting comparison with more mature forms of tokenised cash.

9. Northern Trust retains BT Pension Scheme and Brightwell servicing mandates

Northern Trust was reappointed on 12 August to provide asset-servicing solutions to BT Pension Scheme and fiduciary manager Brightwell. The mandates include global custody, investment-operations outsourcing and derivatives outsourcing. Northern Trust said its relationship with BT Pension Scheme extends for more than 18 years and its relationship with Brightwell for eight years. Brightwell said the selection followed a detailed review of the market.

Brightwell assessed Northern Trust across custody, outsourced investment operations and derivatives rather than as isolated services. Retaining all three supports the competitiveness of Northern Trust’s integrated servicing model, since changing providers across the mandate could have involved replacing custody, operating and derivatives infrastructure around the same institutional portfolio.

10. Itaú and OpenAssets join ANBIMA pilot for tokenised capital-markets infrastructure

OpenAssets announced on 11 August a collaboration with Itaú to participate in the tokenisation pilot led by the Brazilian Financial and Capital Markets Association, or ANBIMA. The initiative is testing the end-to-end lifecycle of capital-markets instruments including fixed-income securities and investment funds on distributed-ledger networks. Itaú and OpenAssets will work on technical proofs of concept, tokenisation architecture and standards, and operational and compliance frameworks covering issuance, trading and settlement.

Itaú’s participation gives the pilot greater institutional relevance, particularly because it addresses the full securities lifecycle rather than token issuance in isolation. However, the development remains at an early stage; the announcement discloses no live issuance, transaction value, secondary trading or completed settlement. Its value will lie in whether the ANBIMA work produces common technical and operating standards that can support production transactions across Brazil’s capital markets.

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