Blockchain technology could be used to settle gold trades, making trading cheaper and more efficient, according to Euroclear, the Brussels-based settlement provider.
Euroclear has partnered with itBit, a New York-based financial technology company, to see how blockchain might form a next-generation settlement service for the London gold market.
Euroclear says it is working with itBit and relevant market participants to develop a settlement service that would lower risks and costs in gold transactions.
itBit owns a proprietary blockchain infrastructure and has a distributed ledger called Bankchain, which consists of a “private network of trusted participants” that clears, tracks and settles trades almost in real-time.
Chad Cascarilla, chief executive of itBit, said: “Precious metals are the first use case for Bankchain, and London bullion is a market in which a distributed ledger can have an immediate benefit.”
Angus Scott, director for product strategy and innovation at Euroclear, said Euroclear had created an advisory group, which “recently convened to discuss the building of the new service with the ambition to make the London bullion market more efficient”.
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