Calastone, a financial technology firm, has successfully completed the first phase of its proof-of-concept test for fund trading using blockchain, the firm said.
Calastone tested the feasibility of using blockchain to develop a common global marketplace for the trading and settlement of mutual funds and said the model proved capable of processing transactions equivalent to a full day’s trading.
Trades for the test were sourced from across the firm’s global transaction network, which spans over 1,200 fund distributors and fund managers in 34 markets.
The aim is to cut the cost of trading mutual funds, from fund manufacturer to end investor, by placing the marketplace on a blockchain.
Campbell Brierley, chief information officer at Calastone, said: “Placing the market on a blockchain effectively opens the door for potential efficiencies across the whole transaction lifecycle in excess of those that could be achieved via the optimisation of transaction processing alone.”
Phase one proved blockchain for the funds market place “can be done”, the firm said, and Calastone is now working on a second phase to its proof-of-concept test with a number of design partners.
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