Goldman and Big Blue join 13 firms from all corners of the financial services ecosystem, including ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, PNC Financial Services Group and Santander InnoVentures; Deutsche Börse and exchange operator fund CME Ventures; tech firms Accenture and Broadridge; and Icap and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, in the round.

Launched last year and helmed by former JP Morgan luminary Blythe Masters, Digital Asset says that it has a "mission" to improve efficiency, security, compliance and settlement speed in the FS industry while reducing costs through the implementation of distributed ledger technology.

The firm has been making waves in the blockchain space, acquiring Hyperledger, Bits of Proof and Blockstack.io, as it bids to build out its portfolio, while hiring a number of high profile people from the banking world. Last week it revealed plans to set up a London office.

It is already working with Australian exchange operator ASX to design a new post-trade system that could provide clearing and settlement for the cash equities market and is also reportedly helping JPMorgan to test the use of blockchain technology in its loan trading operations.

Paul Walker, global co-head, technology, Goldman, says: "We believe that distributed ledger technology will play a transformative role in the way financial institutions transact globally and we look forward to working with Digital Asset and the broader financial and technical community to engage this emerging technology."