Share this article
Germany's Central Bank Claims Success in Blockchain Settlement Trial
Germany's central bank and Deutsche Börse say they have successfully completed a blockchain trial for securities settlement.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:31 a.m. Published Oct 25, 2018, 2:00 p.m.
Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, and Deutsche Börse, owner of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, have completed a blockchain trial investigating the technology's potential in securities settlement.
The two announced in a joint press release on Thursday that two blockchain prototypes built to their specifications had "successfully" supported the settlement of securities transactions, payments (including interest) and bond repayments at maturity.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The project got started in March 2016, when both parties launched BLOCKBASTER (for blockchain-based settlement technology research) project – aimed to create "a conceptual prototype" for blockchain-based system to transfer and settle securities and fiat currency.
The prototypes were developed on Hyperledger Fabric and the blockchain platform created by Digital Asset (DA), which is notably also working with the Australian Securities Exchange to replace its CHESS system in 2020.
According to the release, the tests showed that the prototypes are able to facilitate the "productive operation of a realistic financial market infrastructure." Recent upgrades of both blockchain platforms could further improve performance if integrated, it adds.
"The tests have shown that blockchain technology is a suitable basis for applications in the field of settlement and other financial infrastructures," said Berthold Kracke, CEO of Clearstream Banking and head of Clearstream Global Operations at Deutsche Börse Group.
Burkhard Balz, member of the executive board, Deutsche Bundesbank, added the firms expect the development to continue apace, and that they see "potential in using it for high-volume applications."
He added:
"The approach of a permissioned architecture, which takes into account the requirements of the financial sector from the outset, has proven to be right."
As in other industries, blockchain technology is increasingly being eyed by major firms as a means to improve payment and settlement systems. Just yesterday, U.K.-based settlement infrastructure provider SETL was granted a license from France's securities regulator to operate a central securities depository system using blockchain tech.
The Singapore Stock Exchange, South Africa's central bank and Bank of Canada have all been conducting similarblockchain trials.
Deutsche Bundesbank building image via Shutterstock
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
Crypto Markets Today: Traders Seek Catalysts After Bitcoin’s Post-Fed Pullback
The crypto market slipped to the lower end of its range after the Federal Reserve’s 25bps rate cut failed to spark fresh momentum.
What to know:
- BTC is trading near $90,350 after defending the $88,200 support zone, but momentum remains capped below the key $94,500 resistance level.
- Implied volatility fell to its lowest since November, ETH/BTC IV spreads widened, and risk reversals stayed negative across tenors while open interest declined—most sharply in ADA.
- Low-liquidity conditions dragged tokens like ETHFI, FET, ADA and PUMP down more than 8%, while privacy-focused XMR stood out with gains as the broader altcoin season index slumped to 19/100.
Top Stories
