Australian stock exchange company says its blockchain offering will soon be connected to the ASX
- NSX has gained approval for the use of its blockchain trading services from Australian regulators
- The stock exchange company trading system had been due to launch in early 2021
- ASX is likely to change Australian stock trading with this venture significantly
The National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) announced today that approval was gained for its distributed ledger technology for trading services in a meeting with the Australian Council of Financial Regulators.
The ASX had been working on a replacement for Australia’s aging clearing system for over five years. The final stage can now begin, finalizing the application process and launch date.
The company’s technology is built on the ClearPay platform, enabling customers to pay for items in installments interest-free. The blockchain offering is a Digital Exchange Sub register System (DESS), a collaboration between NSX and iSignthis, an Australian software company. The distributed ledger technology enables real-time accounting and same-day settlements for trading participants, the exchange, and the share registry.
There has been tension in recent months between the ASX and the joint DESS venture. Last autumn, iSighnthis shares were suspended by ASX, prompting senior leadership at NSX and iSignthis to launch legal proceedings against the Australian Securities Exchange for stymying DESS.
John Karantzis, the CEO of both iSignthis and NSX, spoke out in May 2020 to accuse the ASX of anti-competitive practices elsewhere. Karantzis criticized NSX for abuse of its market leader position by attempting to crush Clearpay because it would compete with ASX’s own Austraclear settlement service.
As previously reported, the launch of the ASX blockchain platform will be seismic within the industry. DESS has the potential to revolutionize Australian stock trading and will be watched by IBM and Microsoft as it begins to roll out services. The Reserve Bank of Australia has encouraged NSX to push on with the blockchain clearing house system without delay.
