Digital Asset working on blockchain solutions for Swiss market
Swiss post-trade specialist SIX Securities Services has hired blockchain firm Digital Asset Holdings to work on a distributed ledger system for securities processing.
The group has picked Digital Asset, run by former J.P Morgan executive Blythe Masters, to design a solution which involves incorporating distributed, encrypted, straight through processing tools into existing securities transaction flows.
Digital Asset will then develop a product roadmap and demonstrate how current, segregated processes could be streamlined and made more efficient for SIX Securities Services and the post-trade ecosystem as a whole.
Other firms working with Digital Asset include the DTCC in the US and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which owns a stake in the blockchain start-up.
SIX Securities Services has already made its own moves in exploring distributed ledger technologies and currently has a prototype for corporate actions processing on display at Sibos, in Geneva next week.
Thomas Zeeb, division chief executive, SIX Securities Services, said distributed ledger technology and its potential role in post trading is key to the business.
"We need to understand it, and more importantly, its applicability and future flexibility in order to keep ahead of the game," he said. "Partnering with Digital Asset is a way to accelerate our own development plans and leverage their experience in this area.”
Blythe Masters, Digital Asset's chief executive, added that the collaboration brings this cutting edge technology another step closer to commercial reality.
“We believe this collaboration will provide exciting opportunities for SIX and its customers while reducing inefficiency, cost and risk in the financial services ecosystem," she said.
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