Euroclear and pioneering Blockchain company Paxos, have announced a successful completion of the first pilot for their Euroclear Bankchain project. Over 600 OTC test bullion trades were settled on the Euroclear Bankchain platform over the course of the two-week pilot.
“The pilot has been very useful in helping us further refine the Bankchain platform,” said Seth Phillips, Bankchain Product Director at Paxos. “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, 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 new Blockchain settlement service for London bullion is due to go live in 2017.
A number of leading market participants in the London bullion market were involved in the pilot, including Scotiabank, Société Générale, Citi, MKS PAMP Group and INTL FCStone. All are part of the Euroclear Bankchain Market Advisory Group that now includes 17 participants working with Euroclear and Paxos in the roll-out of the new service.
Euroclear Bankchain combines Euroclear’s strengths as an international securities depository and settlement provider and Paxos’ flagship Blockchain technical platform, Bankchain™, to bring instant settlement and simultaneous delivery versus payment to the London bullion market. The settlement of unallocated gold is a very capital-intensive process. Euroclear Bankchain will significantly minimise risk, leading to a reduced capital charge and reduced balance sheet constraints.
Over the coming months, Euroclear and Paxos will continue to work closely with the London bullion market and integrate feedback from the pilot into the Euroclear Bankchain service. Another market simulation will run early next year in preparation for a production launch later in 2017.
Paxos is a financial technology company delivering pioneering Blockchain solutions for global financial institutions. Its flagship service is Bankchain, a next-generation Blockchain settlement platform that is transforming post-trade across capital markets. Bankchain delivers instantaneous settlement and greater automation, offering market participants reduced counterparty risk, lower capital requirements and increased operational efficiencies. Paxos’ management team is led by CEO and Co-Founder Charles Cascarilla and its board of directors includes former FDIC chair Sheila Bair, former Senator Bill Bradley, former chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Robert Herz, former chairman, president & CEO of Lotus Development Corporation Jim Manzi and former NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer.
