ASX pushes back the start date for its blockchain

ASX has pushed back the “go live” date for its blockchain to clear and settle the Australian equities market by around six months, after market participants expressed concerns about meeting an ambitious timeline given the complexity of the technological change.

Market players used a consultation process to express “a strong interest in better understanding the potential benefits that a DLT [distributed ledger technology]-based system can offer”, ASX said in a new “scope and implementation plan” for its replacement of the CHESS system.

Brokers and investors want as much time as possible to get their heads around the technology, and to determine what investment spending will be required to connect with the new infrastructure.

ASX has established some new working groups to facilitate this and will assist customers in discussions with their software vendors to allow them to “take a node” on the distributed ledger.

The system, which is being built alongside Digital Asset, the New York-based fintech in which the ASX holds a strategic stake, will essentially remove the need for market participants to reconcile their databases with those held by the exchange because each participant will hold a trustworthy version of the ownership of equities.

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Source: ASX pushes back the start date for its blockchain | afr.com