Global Custody Pro - 15 October 2025

FCA warns on T+1, 21X, Solana, BitGo and more

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Global Custody Pro
October 14, 2025 • Reading Time: 8 minutes

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Welcome to Global Custody Pro, read by custody professionals like you. I'm Brennan McDonald, Managing Editor. I write about the global custody industry, having spent over 12 years in financial services, including working at a global custody bank. An AI voice reads the audio version of this newsletter. Reply to this email with feedback or connect with us on LinkedIn.

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🌏 Global Custody News

FCA warns on T+1 settlement readiness

The Financial Conduct Authority has warned that firms must accelerate preparations for the country's transition to T+1 settlement, with key implementation deadlines approaching in 2026 and the final transition date set for 11 October 2027. Jamie Bell, the FCA's infrastructure and exchanges lead for capital markets, said the regulator is seeing "a risk of complacency" despite some participants beginning to mobilise for the change, which will reduce transaction processing time by around 80%.

The settlement cycle change, which requires certain trades to be settled just one business day after execution rather than the current longer timeframe, is designed to improve market efficiency, reduce risk and align the UK with global standards. The United States completed its move to T+1 in May 2024, but the FCA cautioned that UK firms cannot simply replicate US preparations due to distinct post-trade arrangements and the additional complexity of coordinated implementation across the UK, Europe and Switzerland.

The regulator identified five key areas requiring attention: strengthening inventory management, reviewing end-to-end settlement arrangements, automating processes where appropriate, accounting for UK-specific implementation challenges, and engaging clients and counterparties early. The FCA said many participants are confident about their own readiness but concerned about clients and counterparties, particularly smaller or overseas firms in the Asia-Pacific region.

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U.S. Corporate Governance Shifts to Traditional Focus

ISS STOXX reported that the 2025 U.S. proxy season marked significant governance shifts, with director election support rebounding from 2023 levels while boards prioritised traditional director expertise over newer-age skills. The analysis found that shareholder proposal submissions declined substantially, with governance issues dominating as environmental and social proposals faced increased omissions under revised SEC guidance. Only 18 companies proposed reincorporating from Delaware to other states through June 30, 2025.

The research revealed that board composition trends shifted toward emphasising leadership, financial expertise, and CEO experience among new directors, whilst information security and ESG skills showed minimal growth. Support for longer-tenured directors improved faster than overall director support, with directors serving 20-plus years seeing the highest increase at 2.4 percentage points from 2023. The percentage of directors serving on only a single board seat rose to 52.8% in 2025 from 51.5% in 2024, whilst those holding four or more contemporaneous seats declined by 14% to 34%, ISS STOXX found.

ISS STOXX identified several developments requiring continued monitoring, including board oversight of artificial intelligence as investor enthusiasm persists despite questions about return on investment. The firm noted that SEC guidance on Schedule 13D filings created uncertainty around shareholder engagement, with some investors halting engagement or adopting listen-only approaches during 2025. Independent board chair prevalence reached five-year highs of 38.6% in the S&P 500 and 46.7% in the Russell 3000 excluding S&P 500 companies.

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🚀 Digital Asset News

21X names Linnehan U.S. CEO

21X, a Frankfurt-based firm specialising in regulated on-chain trading and settlement, announced the appointment of John Linnehan as Chief Executive Officer of its U.S. entity on 9 October 2025. The company said Linnehan, a seasoned investment management executive and fintech entrepreneur, will drive regulatory approval and scaling of 21X's blockchain-based trading and settlement infrastructure in the U.S. capital market.

Linnehan has led financial firms through periods of transformation and growth, with expertise in financial strategy, distribution and operations. The appointment follows 21X's launch in September 2025 of its European DLT Trading and Settlement System (21X AG), which the company described as the first fully regulated distributed ledger technology trading and settlement system in the EU. Max J. Heinzle, Founder and CEO of 21X Group, stated that Linnehan's decades of C-level leadership are needed to navigate the regulatory environment and establish trust among institutional partners.

The 21X U.S. entity will support trading of tokenised equities, debt instruments, ETFs, mutual funds and structured products. The company said the U.S. entity will shortly submit applications to FINRA and the SEC for regulatory approval. Linnehan said the firm is committed to building a transparent and resilient trading venue that will redefine how capital is raised, traded and settled in America.

Solana Company Selects BitGo as SOL Custodian

Solana Company announced it has selected BitGo, the digital asset infrastructure company, to serve as custodian for the company's holdings of SOL, the native asset of the Solana Network. The partnership supports Solana Company's digital asset treasury strategy as it continues to build its position in SOL.

The company, formerly known as Helius Medical Technologies, Inc., was created in partnership with Pantera and Summer Capital. Joseph Chee, Executive Chairman of HSDT and Chairman of Summer Capital, said the collaboration with BitGo reinforces the company's commitment to advance its mission of building a strong, transparent digital asset treasury. Cosmo Jiang, General Partner at Pantera Capital and Board Observer at HSDT, said partnering with BitGo reflects the company's continued focus on institutional-grade infrastructure as it expands its digital asset treasury operations.

The Solana network remains one of the most active blockchain networks, processing more than 3,500 transactions per second and averaging approximately 3.7 million daily active wallets. The network has surpassed 23 billion transactions year-to-date, reflecting its broad adoption and strong user engagement. BitGo will provide secure custody and staking infrastructure for HSDT's SOL holdings.

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