Blockchain Trading Sees Securities Exchange Trial in Myanmar

A major securities brokerage in Japan is reportedly testing a blockchain-based stock trading system in Myanmar.

According to Nikkei, Daiwa Securities Group’s research outfit has been in Myanmar working with the Yangon Stock Exchange. The goal, the Asian regional newspaper reported, was to test mechanisms by which problems with critical trading infrastructure could be avoided or resolved more efficiently.

Testing is said to have begun in March, involving five local firms along with the Yangon-based exchange. Daiwa, according to local sources, has an ownership stake in the exchange.

The publication further detailed:

“On the assumption of using blockchain to connect the Yangon Stock Exchange and local brokerages, the test was conducted to gauge how the system would work in the country, which is often hit by power outages and phone lines going dead.”

The trials don’t represent the first time the technology has been tested within Myanmar. Earlier this year, a microfinance firm began testing blockchain to streamline how its internal systems operate

One notable characteristic of the trial, according to Nikkei, is that the Yangon Stock Exchange “only matches buy and sell orders twice a day”. As a result, Daiwa said that it doesn’t expect to run into any major obstacles as it looks to integrate the system into live trading.

Daiwa is Japan’s second largest securities brokerage. The country’s largest, Nomura, has also been pursuing exchange-related applications of its own through its research arm.

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