The news was confirmed by SETL via Twitter. “Excited to announce that Financial Services platform Colendi is acquiring SETL,” stated the company. “We will keep our prominent role in RegFi as we start our venture into the DeFi space with the development of a public blockchain.”

The transaction would bring together two firms which have been operating in different spaces within the blockchain and financial services market.

Launched in 2015, SETL was a key player in some of the early attempts to use blockchain technology within the investment funds market.

It was part of a collaboration between French fund management platform IZNES and blockchain-based central securities depositary ID2S to set up a post-trade structure based on distributed ledger technology (DLT).

While ID2S closed down in 2021, SETL went into administration in 2019. Following its emergence from administration, the firm stated that it would operate as a technology company rather than focusing on attempts to develop market infrastructure.

Colendi’s main product is a decentralised credit scoring engine which is used by a number of payment providers, including Turkey-based PayCell. Colendi has also been developing a digital wallet offering.

According to online news site Tech.eu, Colendi is preparing to launch its own public blockchain infrastructure, complete with a tokenised network, for its digital wallet users.

Speaking to Tech.eu, Anthony Culligan, SETL’s chief engineer and former largest shareholder, said, “Many of our clients are looking for a route from internal private blockchains to a public shared environment. This will provide that path.”

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed.

It comes just less than a year after Colendi raised £30 million in series A funding, which valued the company at $120 million.

SETL is backed by both Citi and Credit Agricole among others.