ASX beaten to the blockchain punch by UK group Calastone
The ASX’s distributed ledger for clearing the equities market will no longer be the first time local fund managers rely on a blockchain to process their trades, after British-based Calastone revealed it will switch on its own distributed ledger technology (DLT) in May. Calastone, whose systems automate 80 per cent of Australian institutional fund flows, will beat the ASX by two years to powering on a system promising unquantified cost savings for global investors. ASX is due to belatedly switch on its blockchain, which will replace CHESS, in March or April 2021. Calastone’s software, which manages back-office processes, is used by 95 per cent of Australia’s managed fund platforms and […]
ASX tech upgrades hit their stride and pay
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has continued its all-out push to achieve regional digital superiority as a multi-pronged trading technology platform, revealing a major foray into analytics, machine learning alongside its migration to blockchain for settlements. The Australian market operator on Thursday added substantial icing to its cake alongside its push into distributed ledger technology that has become widely regarded as a global leader in real-world application of the technology. While the rollout of the new DLT settlements platform, where the ASX has partnered with Digital Asset Holdings, was earlier pushed-out by around six months to March/April 2021, analysts were ravenous for detail on the opportunities down the track once […]
Is it time Australian investors bought into the fintech story?
By George Lucas, MD/CEO, Raiz Invest Tell Australian investors that a hole in the ground could prove to be the next El Dorado and they will fall over themselves to push a one-cent share into the stratosphere. But tell them about an exciting high-tech venture that is disrupting the market and you can hear the audible yawns. Raiz Invest’s former parent company, the privately-owned US company Acorns, recently raised $US105 million ($A145million) to continue to fund its operation. The Wall Street Journal reports this gives Acorns a $US860 million ($A1.186 billion) valuation. CNBC reports that Acorns US has more than 4.5 million sign-ups, 2.1 million investment accounts and circa $US1.2 […]
First Growth Funds to emerge as force in crypto and digital assets investment
Diversified investment company, First Growth Funds (ASX:FGF), generated $160,584 in new income in the December quarter, with over half of new revenue generated from fees. The make up of new revenue breaks down as $86,000 in fees, $26,000 in dividends and interest and the balance in trading revenue. The numbers are indicative of First Growth Funds’ steady growth, along with its strict fiscal policy and its cryptocurrency and digital asset investment strategy. FGF invests across a broad range of asset classes and industry verticals, and is the only ASX-listed company that invests in the crypto and digital assets sector. The company leads the field in Australia with regard to crypto […]
Afterpay challenger Splitit up 90 per cent on first day of trade
Israeli fintech start-up Splitit has got the tech initial public offering market off to a cracking start for the year, with the payments-splitting company jumping 90 per cent on it first day of trade. Having raised $12 million and listed with an issue price of 20¢ on Tuesday, Splitit ended the day at 38¢, giving it a valuation of $100.3 million, having capitalised on the momentum behind peers such as Afterpay and Zip Co. The company, which was founded in 2012 by Gil Don and Alon Feit, has created technology that sits on top of the payments “rails” used by Mastercard and Visa to allow individuals to split the cost […]
Faster, cheaper: blockchain breeds competition
Blockchain technology has the potential to provide superior post-trade infrastructure to investors. Fund managers will soon be enjoying faster and cheaper transactions than what monopoly incumbents such as the ASX offer, thanks to competition, a tech company boss predicts. The post-trade world is “very, very expensive relative to the work that is performed”, says Peter Randall, president of technology company SETL. SETL has built institutional payment and settlements infrastructure based on blockchain technology, which could emerge as competition to a blockchain-based platform the ASX is now developing to replace its legacy Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) infrastructure. Randall will speak at Investment Magazine’s upcoming Investment Operations Conference, to be […]
ASX says shock departure of blockchain guru won’t affect its rollout
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said its plans to switch over to blockchain technology are on track despite the surprise departure of high profile chief executive Blythe Masters from its tech partner Digital Asset Holdings (DA). Ms Masters, the high-flying JPMorgan Chase executive who was part of the team credited with the creation of credit default swaps (CDS), has played a crucial role introducing the blockchain startup’s technology to the financial sector. Digital Asset said Ms Masters had stepped down for personal reasons but added she will remain involved with the company. DA chairman AG Gangadhar will act as interim CEO until a replacement is found. “Working as part of […]
ASX-backed Digital Asset plans to power banking with new DAML programming language
For fintech entrepreneurs, it might pay to get on top of a new programming language soon to be released by Digital Asset. DAML (the Digital Asset Modelling Language) is a core part of Digital Asset’s plans to roll its private blockchain beyond equities settlement and clearing to other parts of the financial services industry such as insurance. It could also emerge in the health sector and supply chain management. When the ASX confirmed a year ago it would use Digital Asset, the New York-based start-up of which it owns about 8 per cent, to replace its ageing CHESS system, the blockchain world sat up and paid attention. ASX now wants […]
