Australia's Biggest Stock Exchange is Taking a 'Close Look' at Blockchain

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is reportedly considering whether to use blockchain technology to manage trade risk.

According to the Financial Times, ASX CEO Elmer Funke Kupper said in a recent interview that the exchange, Australia's largest, is considering an application of the blockchain as it explores how to go about improving its trading systems.

Funke Kupper told the publication:

“We’re having a very close look at this. The timing is almost perfect. Where blockchain can make an enormous difference, we’re having a look at whether this is a way to transform our equity markets.”

Funke Kupper stressed that ASX isn’t rushing to adopt the technology, thought, and that a decision won’t be made “for another six to seven months”.

The ASX CEO’s comments echo statements from earlier this year, when he told The Sydney Morning-Herald that the stock exchange was weighing whether to enhance its clearing and settlement system using blockchain technology.

"We are looking at what we can do to bring end-to-end efficiencies, and we have people looking very closely at blockchain to see if we can create efficiencies for our clients, investors and companies,” Funke Kupper said at the time.

Other exchanges have also spent time and resources looking at blockchain applications. Nasdaq unveiled its private markets blockchain project, Linq, last month in Las Vegas, and made waves earlier this year when it partnered with blockchain startup Chain.

More recently, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) signed on to a trade settlement-focused blockchain initiative alongside a team that includes the CME Group and French bank Société Générale. The LSE is also a partner in an open-source blockchain project led by IBM and the Linux Foundation.

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