Global Banks Pilot Blockchain-based Gold Settlement Platform

A group of global banks and financial institutions has completed the first pilot of a new blockchain-based gold trading platform.

In total, 600 test bullion trades were settled on a platform being developed by Euroclear in partnership with blockchain startup Paxos. The group of financial institutions included Société Générale, Citi, Scotiabank, among other banks.

Transaction settlement service Euroclear first disclosed that it was working on the initiative earlier this year. The project is aimed at providing faster settlement and cheaper services for unallocated gold on the London bullion market.

Announcing the test's completion earlier this week, Scott, Euroclear director of product strategy and innovation, said in a statement:

"This is a real first step in bringing a new settlement capability to the London bullion market that will help lower risk and simplify the post-trade process."

In the months ahead, Euroclear and Paxos said they plan to solicit feedback from other stakeholders in London's bullion market and further hone the in-development platform.

The trial continues the trend of efforts by both established market players and new startups to apply the tech to the gold market. As far as London is concerned, there's significant trade volume up for grabs – last year, 17.9m ounces of gold (worth $20.7bn) were cleared each month, according to statistics published by The London Bullion Market Association.

Earlier this year IEX – the stock exchange that inspired the book Flash Boys by Michael Lewis – raised $9m to launch its Tradewind Market, a blockchain-based market also looking to bring increased transparency to precious metals.

Most recently, The UK Royal Mint announced it would soon launch its own blockchain-based gold trading platform.

Image of gold pound via Shutterstock