Australia's primary securities exchange announced its intention to adopt distributed ledger technology making it the first exchange in the world to fully adopt blockchain.
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), will move the settlement and clearing of the $2 trillion Australian cash equities market onto blockchain-inspired technology being developed by a New York start-up.
The announcement is a coup for Digital Asset Holdings, the start-up run by former J.P. Morgan banker Blythe Masters, who will supply the new technology. In a statement on its website the ASX said it would provide more detail in March 2018 about the timing for the move and the functionality of the system at its launch.
The Growing Influence of Blockchain
SIX, the Swiss stock exchange operator, also wants to make use of the blockchain technology and hired Masters to help it develop the use of Blockchain. The deal entails the construction of a prototype for securities lifecycle processing, using the platform provided by Digital Asset Holdings.
Singapore also has a link to Masters as she was appointed to the key advisory panel set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The 15-member group is tasked with advising the city-state on fintech and how it can harness new technologies.
