There is no doubt that Blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) has become one of the most talked about technologies in the world. Conferences, articles and events have been hailing its attributes but a recent report by Boston-based management consultancy Opimas shows that the technology may not be the panacea that many market participants are envisioning. The… Read More >>
SWIFT Urges a Cautious Embrace of DLT
The financial messaging and systems cooperative SWIFT is urging a cautious embrace of the much-hyped blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) while acknowledging that it is engaged in many R&D and proof-of-concept projects. SWIFT is laying out its response to the DLT phenomenon via a position paper written with global professional services provider Accenture, and via the… Read More >>
Blockchain for Clearing and Settlement to Be Gradual: Report
The emergence of blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) could led to “a new global clearing and settlement infrastructure” for domains that are “currently poorly served by existing infrastructure or facing poor value for money,” according to a new report from GBST, a securities transaction and fund administration software vendor. However, it’s likely to be a gradual… Read More >>
Blockchain Spawns Mysteries, Projects and Alliances
The Blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) phenomenon is forging ahead amid mysteries, major projects at financial services firms and new alliances among top industry providers. As for mysteries solved, major financial services players are delving into the DLT underpinnings, which stem from the Bitcoin cryptocurrency whose inventor has been shrouded in mystery. That is until Monday,… Read More >>
Blockchain’s Great Promise Faces Great Hurdles
The distributed ledger, or blockchain, as today’s hot financial services technology is also known, may lead to an Internet of Value. But first, important issues have to be resolved. So says Lael Brainard, one of the Federal Reserve’s seven governors. In a recent speech entitled “The Use of Distributed Ledger Technologies in Payment, Clearing, and… Read More >>
Omgeo Alert Settlement Utility Hits Milestone
Omgeo Alert, an online global database of account information and standing settlement instructions (SSIs), has hit a milestone with more than six million settlement instructions — a major step forward in its push to become the dominant SSI utility, say officials of the post-trade market infrastructure services provider the DTCC, which owns Omgeo. SSIs hold… Read More >>
More Global Banks Test or Explore Blockchain
The bandwagon for blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) is getting crowded as four major global banks have just completed a battery of tests in which the cutting-edge technology played a key role in credit default swap (CDS) processing. At the same time, key players in Japan led by Nomura Research Institute (NRI) officials are… Read More >>
CloudMargin Sharpens Collateral Optimization Capabilities
CloudMargin, a provider of web-based collateral and margin management services, reports that it has improved its collateral optimization capabilities to better serve the clearing needs of securities firms. The enhanced optimization combines CloudMargin’s capabilities to source inventory “on a client’s behalf direct from custodians via CloudMargin’s own SWIFT membership,” vendor officials say. Cloud-based collateral management… Read More >>
Fidessa and Alpha Omega Take On Centralized Matching
Post-trade matching that exploits the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) electronic trading protocol is at the heart of a new partnership between electronic trading platform provider Fidessa group and FIX-based affirmation services vendor Alpha Omega, who are joining forces to offer “faster, low-cost bidirectional trade matching” via Fidessa’s post-trade Affirmation Management Service (AMS), says Steve Grob,… Read More >>
Regulators Could Halt Blockchain’s Progress
CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo is calling on U.S. and European regulators and policymakers to take a “do no harm approach” toward the oversight of emerging distributed ledger technology (DLT), popularized by the blockchain underpinnings for cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Otherwise, DLT’s growth is at “risk of being stymied by disparate and uncertain regulation,” says Giancarlo, who… Read More >>
