Founded in 2015, Cobalt provides core shared ledger infrastructure for banks - including Deutsche Bank, Citi, Barclays, BNP, Natwest, ABN Amro and Standard Chartered Bank - in foreign exchange trading and digital assets.

In December it was acquired by United Fintech, an outfit dedicated to scooping up a stable of capital markets fintechs.

While still operating was a standalone business, Cobalt is now going back to its roots, focusing 100% on foreign exchange under new boss, United Fintech group COO Marc Levin.

Meanwhile, the digital asset division will become a separate business in the United Fintech stable, slated to launch in the second quarter.

Says Levin: "While FX and DA are similar in many ways, and likely to merge in the future, the two industries are currently at very different maturity stages of their evolution, largely operating independently and therefore requiring different approaches to be successful on their own. Hence the spin-off of Cobalt’s DA product as part of a bigger United Fintech play in this area."