Founded: June 2019

Products: eNotes, Electronic negotiable instrument platform

Overview: Obligate (formerly known as FQX) has built the first globally accessible B2B Infrastructure for electronic Promissory Notes (eNotes). It’s based on blockchain technology that enables the issuing and receiving of electronic negotiable instruments. Obligate’s domain of activity is the digital asset economy with a primary focus on eNotes – electronic promissory notes – namely unconditional promises to pay. eNotes represent a short-term debt solution applicable in digital short-term debt markets.

Obligate provides an infrastructure where corporates, digital asset service providers, banks and investors can issue and receive eNotes in real-time, the aim being to improve liquidity and risk protection for both trading partners. eNotes has been cited as a ‘gamechanger’ for trade finance by BAFT, ITFA and the ICC.

All Obligate eNotes are signed and transferred by using electronic signatures. Obligate has a patent pending on this combination of banking grade DLT, corporate authentication mechanisms and electronic signatures.

In early June 2021, Obligate announced $4.7m in seed funding, led by Earlybird Venture Capital.

In May 2022, Obligate appointed James Freis, a former Director of FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network – a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury) as its Regulatory Technology Officer. He will be responsible for composing programmable debt offerings.

In late January 2023, FQX changed its name to Obligate. It also announced that it had secured a $4m funding round, led by Circle Ventures and Blockchange Ventures, joining initial seed investors Earlybird and SIX Fintech Ventures, and bringing the total funding to above $8m.

Active region(s): Europe, Asia

Partners: Instimatch Global, OFX, CLST, SDX, Post Finance, Microsoft for Startups, International Chamber of Commerce.

Employees: 20+

Funding: c.$6.7m

Ownership: 4 Co-Founders

Elevator pitch: “Combining highly proven instruments with the most recent legislation and technology, Obligate allows the standardised and globally scalable transfer of unconditional promises to pay. Obligate applies the best legal, finance and technology expertise to the field of electronic negotiable instruments as the promissory note. The Obligate eNote infrastructure allows businesses to control their liquidity by issuing, transferring and closing eNotes for financing and investing purposes. The enforceability in 165 countries allows the use on a global scale. All eNotes are stored on a blockchain-based infrastructure.”

Website: www.enotes.tech

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +41 79 723 28 52

TMI view: Obligate has done a huge amount of ground work that should give platform users real confidence. With ICC support it could well prove to be the game changer this paper-bound industry needs.

Verdict: A unique and innovative combination of financial and legal technologies that has the potential to make a huge difference in the crypto & trade space.