London Stock Exchange Looking for ‘Interesting’ Use Cases In Blockchain
The rapidly emerging blockchain technology has sparked a huge interest among the traditional financial institutions. One of the world’s oldest stock market exchanges - the London Stock Exchange - is reportedly looking for different and “interesting” use cases of blockchain.
During the recent interview with CNBC, Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the London Stock Exchange hinted for storing of records on a distributed network of computers instead of having a centralized server.
Rathi said: “You can certainly see distributed ledger technology having an application in the issuance process. I can see that technology being used in settlement too.”
He further told that the LSE is currently assessing an “interesting array of different ideas” coming from its rival platforms. The LSE will be closely observing the ideas that gain traction and would likely implement it on its platform.
Over the last year, America’s second-largest stock exchange Nasdaq has hinted on important developments in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. Similarly, Switzerland’s SIX exchange is planning to launch a blockchain-based platform to speed up the trading process.
Besides seeking new developments in the blockchain space, the LSE recently acquired a minority stake in a company called Nivuara. As a part of its regulatory “sandbox” the LSE is also seeking “the issuance, admission and trading of equities with Nivaura”. Although, we have yet to see a direct application of this technology on the LSE platform.
Rathi says that he is in support of the overall development in the financial sector and markets. However, he notes that “extreme manifestations” in the crypto sector have caused “a little bit of caution.”
While some big players in the traditional financial industry are experimenting with blockchain solutions, a few of them are also warming up to the crypto market. For e.g. Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan plans to bring its own digital currency JPM Coin in the upcoming few months.
The JPM Coin shall be a dollar-pegged digital currency as the company plans to use it for instant cross-border settlements for its global clients. Besides, cross-border payments, JPMorgan also plans to leverage blockchain and cryptocurrency technology for its corporate debt insurance.