Euroclear and Paxos have completed the first pilot for their blockchain settlement service for the London bullion market.
The platform, Euroclear Bankchain, settled over 600 over-the-counter test bullion trades over a two-week pilot. Participants included Scotiabank, Societe Generale and Citi, all members of the Euroclear Bankchain Market Advisory Group.
Due to go live in 2017, Euroclear Bankchain is intended to combine Euroclear’s capabilities as an international central securities depository and settlement provider with Paxos’s existing blockchain platform.
It is designed to bring instant settlement and delivery-versus-payment to the London bullion market, minimising risk, and reducing capital charge and balance sheet constraints.
Seth Phillips, Bankchain product director at Paxos, said: “The level of engagement from market participants was extensive and they were excited by settlements enabled on a real blockchain for the first time and to see how quickly their feedback could be incorporated into the platform.”
Angus Scott, director of product strategy and innovation at Euroclear, added: “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."
The Euroclear Bankchain Market Advisory Group now includes 17 participants working on the rollout of the new service. Euroclear Bankchain will run another market simulation in early 2017, in preparation for the launch date.
