Share this article
Hong Kong Stock Exchange Launches Blockchain-Based Settlement Platform
HKEX says the system, used by traders in Hong Kong to buy stocks in China, will speed up settlement and provide greater transparency.
Updated Oct 4, 2023, 8:17 p.m. Published Oct 4, 2023, 8:17 p.m.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Stock Connect system, which links Hong Kong’s stock markets with those in mainland China, is getting an upgrade thanks to blockchain technology.
According to a press release, the upgraded Stock Connect, dubbed Synapse, will incorporate smart contracts to help execute post-trade workflows and reduce settlement risk.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Synapse is able to simultaneously create settlement instructions for all parties along the settlement chain, facilitating concurrent processing, while also providing near-instantaneous status updates to all parties involved in the trade, a technical pamphlet explains, which is important when connecting traders in two different markets.
The average daily turnover of the Stock Connect totaled $15.302 billion (109.3 billion RMB) in the first half of 2023, up 5 percent from a year earlier, and a 50 percent increase from 2020 levels.
In Australia, the ASX has been advised to adopt blockchain technology to replace its settlement system called CHESS, the Australian Financial Review reported last year.
Synapse is scheduled to launch in Hong Kong on October 9.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Key U.S. Senator on Crypto Bill, Lummis, Negotiating Dicey Points With White House
The Republican lawmaker who is among the core negotiators on the U.S. market structure bill said the White House has rejected some ethics language.
What to know:
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she is negotiating with the White House on behalf of Senate Democrats trying to insert ethics provisions into Congress' market structure legislation.
- Lawmakers should reveal a new draft market structure bill by the end of the week and hold a markup hearing next week, she said.
Top Stories
