Share this article
Funds Network Calastone to Roll Out Blockchain Settlements in 2019
Calastone, the U.K.-based operator of a transactions network for investment funds, is moving settlement to a blockchain by May 2019
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:38 a.m. Published Dec 3, 2018, 7:00 a.m.
Calastone, the operator of a London-based transaction network for investment funds, is looking to move its entire settlements system to a blockchain by May 2019.
According to a Financial Times report on Sunday, Calastone, which provides services to over 1,700 firms including JP Morgan Asset Management, estimates the plan could help the industry save up to £3.4 billion (or $4.3 billion) in fund distribution costs, excluding the U.S. market.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Currently, Calastone’s processes for settling funds are still manual, including over 9 million messages and transactions worth about $217 billion a month between buyers, sellers and distributors, according to the firm's website. It's now eyeing blockchain as a way to automate these processes in order to make them cheaper and more efficient since the parties involved will no longer need to submit the same information multiple times.
In June 2017, Calastone claimed it successfully completed the first phase of a blockchain proof-of-concept for "distributed market infrastructure," and said at the time it would move its system to a private, permissioned blockchain network in 2019.
"A blockchain-enabled marketplace means alleviating operational inefficiencies, increasing performance and generating greater savings – a win-win for everybody," Calastone’s deputy CEO Ken Tregidgo said at the time.
Back in February, Calastone predicted that moving to blockchain could help the global mutual funds market save over $2.5 billion a year, using data from a 2016 Deloitte study.
Other players in the asset management industry are also looking to bring mutual fund transactions onto blockchain platforms. As early as 2016, five major British mutual fund operators, including Aberdeen Asset Management and Aviva Investors, collaborated on exploring blockchain in trading systems to reduce costs.
Last year in December, U.S. mutual funds manager Vanguard said it will begin using smart contracts in some of its business operations soon. Nasdaq and Sweden’s SEB bank also tested blockchain for mutual fund trading in September 2017.
London eye 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
XRP Underperforms Market as Sudden Bitcoin Surge Forces $387M of Liquidations
XRP's technical outlook remains uncertain, with support at $2.05 and resistance at $2.17, as traders watch for volume expansion
What to know:
- XRP posts gains but underperforms compared to the broader digital asset surge, with below-average trading volume raising questions about the move's strength.
- Bitcoin's rise above $94,000 triggered a broad market rebound, leading to significant liquidations and reshuffling of positions.
- XRP's technical outlook remains uncertain, with support at $2.05 and resistance at $2.17, as traders watch for volume expansion to confirm momentum alignment.
Top Stories
