ASX develops relationship with Digital Asset 22 June 2016Sydney Reporter: Stephanie Palmer
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The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has cemented a commercial agreement with Digital Asset Holdings and invested an additional US $7.6 million (AUD 10.15 million) in the firm.
The additional equity means ASX now owns approximately 8.5 percent of Digital Asset, the blockchain technology company founded by Blythe Masters, former managing director of J.P. Morgan.
ASX will also appoint a representative to the board of Digital Asset.
The companies have also entered in to a commercial agreement in which ASX has appointed Digital Asset as its preferred partner for distributing blockchain technology to support the post-trade requirements of the Australian cash equities market.
This development comes after ASX enlisted Digital Asset to develop a new blockchain enabled system for clearing and settling trades in its equity market in January, and marks a continuation of Australia’s commitment to adopting distributed ledger technology.
In January, ASX paid US $11.16 (AUD $14.9 million) to acquire a 5 percent stake in Digital Asset.
At the time, Masters called the appointment “the world’s first national scale post-trade solution utilising distributed ledger technology”.
She said: “The Australian equities market could benefit tremendously from this new technology and enable ASX to better serve existing clients and create new opportunities.”
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