London-based capital-markets firm LO:TECH has raised $12 million in a Series A round to expand its institutional trading infrastructure into the United States and Asia-Pacific. The company plans to establish a presence in New York and Singapore while growing execution services across digital assets, traditional markets and prediction markets. MMC led the round, with existing investors Faction and 13 Books Capital participating alongside Atka.

Funding targets two financial hubs

LO:TECH says the new capital will support overseas operations and a broader execution business for institutional clients. The company describes its infrastructure as designed for markets that trade continuously across venues and asset classes, rather than only during conventional exchange hours. Its announcement says the firm serves more than 50 institutional clients through designated market making, market data and execution services. That client figure, like the company's revenue and volume claims, is self-reported rather than independently audited in the announcement.

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The move puts LO:TECH closer to two major pools of capital and trading activity. New York would provide access to U.S. institutional markets and potential regulatory pathways, while Singapore is a regional base for banks, asset managers and digital-asset firms serving Asia-Pacific. The financing does not itself grant permission to offer regulated products in either market, and LO:TECH did not disclose a post-money valuation.

The U.S. launch has a regulatory boundary

LO:TECH's release described new execution services as launching on November 2. In a clarification to CoinDesk, however, the company said the activity going live falls within its existing proprietary-trading and digital-asset liquidity operations. It said a regulatory application is being prepared separately and that regulated services will not be offered before approval. The firm did not name the U.S. licence or jurisdiction it is pursuing, leaving the timing and scope of a regulated American business uncertain.

That distinction matters for institutions evaluating the announcement. Building trading technology, providing liquidity and opening a local office are different milestones from receiving authorization to execute regulated client business. Customers will need to assess which LO:TECH entity provides each service, where it is licensed and what protections apply before routing orders or relying on the firm's infrastructure.

Tokenized markets still depend on traditional prices

LO:TECH is positioning the expansion around the convergence of crypto markets and tokenized traditional assets. CoinDesk reported that the company declined to say whether it currently trades tokenized stocks and did not disclose exact volumes, client names or its hedging methods. The publication also cited a World Federation of Exchanges study finding that traditional exchanges remain the main source of price discovery for third-party tokenized stocks, with token prices generally moving back toward the underlying shares when they diverge.

The funding gives LO:TECH resources to build teams and pursue licences, but execution quality and regulatory status will determine whether expansion turns into durable institutional business. The next verifiable milestones are formal authorization, named operating entities, disclosed service availability and evidence that the New York and Singapore offices are active. Institutional clients will also need evidence on custody arrangements, counterparty exposure, best execution and business continuity across round-the-clock markets. Until then, the round is best understood as financing for expansion rather than proof that a regulated cross-market platform is already operating in those locations.

Sources

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