The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has selected Ediphy, operating under the fairCT initiative, as the first Consolidated Tape Provider (CTP) for bonds in the European Union. This marks the first formal implementation of the consolidated tape framework introduced under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR).
Following a competitive assessment process launched in January 2025, ESMA concluded that Ediphy’s proposal met all regulatory criteria and scored highest across the award categories. The selected provider will now be invited to apply for authorisation and, once approved, will operate the CTP for bonds for a five-year term under ESMA’s direct supervision.
“A key contribution to building the Savings and Investment Union (SIU)”
Natasha Cazenave, Executive Director at ESMA, commented, “With today’s decision, we are taking a decisive step towards setting up consolidated tapes in the EU. This step constitutes a key contribution to building the Savings and Investment Union (SIU) and to the further development of capital markets in Europe. Market participants will benefit from a consolidated view of market activity for bonds in the EU, with a variety of use cases to the benefit of all participants in the EU’s fixed income markets.”
Ediphy, a fintech focused on fixed income markets, has been actively involved in the regulatory and technical discussions around consolidated tape since the implementation of MiFID II in 2018. The company launched fairCT to address longstanding market fragmentation and transparency gaps in bond trading data.
The consolidated tape initiative aims to collect and aggregate bond trade data from EU trading venues and approved publication arrangements (APAs), producing a continuous electronic stream of price and volume data that is made publicly available. This unified view of market activity is intended to improve price discovery, regulatory oversight, and investor access across the bloc’s bond markets.
In parallel, ESMA continues to prepare selection procedures for CTPs in other asset classes. The process for equities, including shares and ETFs, began in June 2025, with a deadline for applications on July 25. A third procedure covering OTC derivatives is expected to launch in early 2026.
The framework stems from the revised MiFIR legislation, which mandates a single CTP per asset class to consolidate data in an effort to deepen EU capital markets and reduce reliance on fragmented or non-EU data sources. The European Commission adopted the necessary technical standards in June 2025, which are pending entry into force following review by the European Parliament and Council.
The launch of the bond CTP is viewed as a key milestone in the development of the EU’s Capital Markets Union. Ediphy’s appointment is expected to pave the way for greater transparency and efficiency in fixed income trading, aligning the region’s infrastructure more closely with longstanding regulatory goals.
