Australian Securities Exchange postpones transition to blockchain-based system by 6 months

In a new report, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has announced that it is pushing back the rollout of the blockchain-based system, which will replace its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS), by six months.

ASX currently uses CHESS to record shareholdings and manage the clearing and settlement of equity transactions in Australia. In early 2016, it selected Digital Asset to replace CHESS with a next-generation post-trade platform using cutting-edge technology.

In April 2018, ASX announced that it plans to launch the blockchain system somewhere between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021.

However, in its new “CHESS Replacement: New Scope and Implementation Plan” in response to the consultation feedback, ASX has decided to

• “push back the earliest commencement date for the new system from Q4 2020 to target March-April 2021;
• provide an additional six months for user development and testing;
• defer commencement of industry-wide testing by six months; and
• extend mandatory accreditation by six months.”

ASX also said that it will release technical documentation at least three months prior to each incremental software release into the customer development environment, adding:

“The first set of technical documentation will be released in December 2018 covering a subset of core clearing and settlement services.”