Digital Asset Holdings, the blockchain specialist backed by Goldman Sachs and run by former J.P. Morgan executive Blythe Masters, has joined the International Securities Services Association.

ISSA - which acts as a trade body for global custodians, fund services specialists, securities depositories and clearing houses - said the New York tech firm signed up as a member on Friday with immediate effect.

It comes after US post-trade giant DTCC unveiled plans this week to develop and test a blockchain technology tool with Digital Asset Holdings managing the clearing and settlement of repo transactions.

Most of the major banks and exchanges, including LME, ICE, CME and NASDAQ, have launched their own initiatives to investigate how they can leverage blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underpins virtual currency bitcoin.

ISSA is due to host an event in Switzerland next month, focusing on next generation technology in the post-trade space.

A quick look at the agenda shows Blythe Masters, who joined Digital Asset Holdings in March last year, will be speaking.

Masters, who chaired the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association from 2008 to 2010, is also working with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on a new blockchain system for clearing and settling trades in the Australian equity market.