Many industry observers are expecting the blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) movement to yield real-world results (and tests) this year, which is making some entrenched concerns nervous and some rebels very happy. In fact, we reported on how HSBC has been using a DLT implementation internally to settle more than three million foreign exchange (FX) transactions… Read More >>
SEC Charges Two ICO Issuers with Registration Violations
The SEC reports that charges have been settled against CarrierEQ Inc., the privately held, Boston-based startup that does business as Airfox, and Paragon Coin Inc., an online financial entity formed in mid-2017 and headed by a former Miss Iowa beauty queen. Paragon proposed to “add blockchain technology to the cannabis industry and work toward legalization… Read More >>
Blockchain Budgets and Staffs Are Growing: Report
Financial services firms are bolstering their staffs and increasing their budgets to get on the blockchain bus, but the development process has been harder than expected, according to a new report from market research firm Greenwich Associates. “The financial services industry is spending about $1.7 billion per year on blockchain, as banks and other firms… Read More >>
Major Ops Industry Players Put Blockchain to the Test
The raging romance between financial services firms and blockchain technologies is heading toward a new phase where projects, tests and proof-of-concept efforts are beginning to yield results that will help industry players revamp or even replace key securities operations. Over the last few weeks, the signs have been encouraging: Deutsche Börse Group and HQLAX have… Read More >>
Vanguard Applies Blockchain to Index Data Sharing Woes
Giant money manager Vanguard is using blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) to minimize the risk and data mismatches that can sometimes complicate index data sharing processes. Vanguard is not working alone but via partnerships with the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), a provider of historical databases, and vendor Symbiont, maker of smart contracts based… Read More >>
Canadian Securities Exchange Embraces Blockchain & Tokenized Technologies
The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) reports that it will introduce a securities clearing and settlement platform that employs blockchain technology, and that will “enable companies to issue conventional equity and debt through tokenized securities, which would be offered to investors through security token offerings (STOs).” “Unlike blockchain-based cryptocurrencies,” says the CSE, which bills itself as… Read More >>
SEC Temporarily Suspends Trading in ‘UBI Blockchain Internet’
The SEC reports the “temporary suspension” of trading in the securities of Hong Kong-based UBI Blockchain Internet, Ltd., whose predecessor company was known as JA Energy. The suspension began on Jan. 8, 2018, and is due to end at 11:59 p.m. EST, on Jan. 22, 2018, the commission says. The temporary suspension is a result… Read More >>
DTCC Wants to Guide Blockchain’s Future in Ops
The DTCC is embracing with qualifications Blockchain distributed ledger technology and is signaling that settlement may be “an ideal long-term target” if the new technology can mature and scale under the tutelage of the post-trade infrastructure utility provider, which says it “is uniquely positioned to help implement this technology and increase its adoption.” DTCC officials… Read More >>
SWIFT’s Innotribe Crowns Hyperledger
At the Sibos conference in Singapore, SWIFT’s fintech innovation division Innotribe has named newcomer Hyperledger as the winner of the 2015 Innotribe Startup Challenge, giving the vendor exposure and a $50,000 cash prize. On its website, Hyperledger says it “uses revolutionary shared, replicated ledgers technology to provide a trustful, universal record of truth not controlled… Read More >>
SETL Hits Milestone via Internal Test of Blockchain Network
SETL, a recent fintech startup that means to apply virtual network Blockchain technology to financial services settlements, reports that its internal test network has “broken the 1 billion transactions-per-day capacity barrier.” The announcement comes as the FIX Trading Community, the messaging standards non-profit formed in 1998, reports separately that it has formed a working group… Read More >>
