ASX Limited, the notable group that controls the management of the Australian Securities Exchange, has created a lot of buzz in the crypto space with its blockchain-inspired system. In a recent interaction with Peter Hiom, the deputy chief executive officer of the exchange operator stated that the new solution has been designed in a way to open doors for new lucrative opportunities for digitalizing multi-party workflows. Hiom shared his views during a panel meet held at VMware’s vFORUM event in Sydney.
The new blockchain-inspired system created by ASX is created to serve as a replacement to its earlier version of the clearing and settlement system, CHESS, which was introduced in 1994 as a COBOL-based solution. By rolling out a product based on distributed ledger technology, ASX has paved the way for the evolution of blockchain technology in a critical production ecosystem. This major change also accounts for some of the most strategically important initiatives made by ASX.
According to the reports, the new DLT system will operate as a private, permissioned blockchain system with separate data, which will render all the participants with an identity known to others on the network. Also, the users will have to qualify certain crucial security standards set by the platform. During the event, Hiom affirmed that the users would be entitled to hold only that data in their node to which they are a party to. Earlier in August, ASX and VMware entered an agreement by signing an MoU to lend joint support to DLT initiatives.
Advertisement
On the launch of the blockchain-inspired system, ASX will be the ultimate owner of the only full copy of the ledger. The leader indemnified the trustworthiness of a DLT solution by saying that “You don’t have to go back to ASX to prove it; you don’t have to message backwards and forwards.”
Hiom opined that DLT has the potential to be employed in an array of industries to earn the best results. He stated that sectors like insurance, legal, trade, finance, logistics, import/export, etc. can be benefitted in a big way with the expertise of blockchain technology. The spearhead stated that public blockchains suffer efficiency issues because of lack of trust, but ASX is a trustable brand and people prefer banking upon its name.
ASX’s new platform will support two methods of interaction. One will be via the operation of a node while the second will be through messages in a way similar to the current CHESS module. ISO 20022 messages will be sent through ASXNet or SWIFTNet. There will also be a third option, which will allow low volume users to use a browser-based system for interaction.
Interestingly, the new DLT solution will lend support to products created in Digital Asset Modeling Language (DAML), the smart contract language created by Digital Asset Holdings which is part-owned by ASX. He added that it was crucial to take into account the global scenario, as organizations like the International Swaps and Derivatives Association is aiming to employ DAML.
Advertisement
In April, ISDA and Digital Asset revealed about their partnership on an “open-source reference code library” intending to adopt the ISDA Common Domain Model. Hiom said that his team is overwhelmed with the response they are getting from the community. ASX has started to work with those that are designing applications.
