UK Blockchain Startup to Enter EU Settlement System After French Regulator’s Approval

U.K. blockchain startup Setl is about to enter an E.U. settlement system after receiving approval from the French securities regulator to run a central securities depository, the Financial Times (FT) writes Tuesday, Oct. 23.

Setl, which develops blockchain solutions for the financial sector, received a license from the Autorite des Marches Financiers and can now connect to the Target2-Securities platform — a €1 billion pan-European network for securities settlement run by the European Central bank with the aim to increase the speed of cross-border payments.

As per the FT, official approval for Setl to join the depository will be issued in a few weeks, and the settlement is expected to be launched in early 2019.

Setl was launched in 2015 by the former CEO of the alternative European stock exchange Chi-X Peter Randall and Anthony Culligan, founder of peer-to-peer bitcoin trading website Roolo. The FT stresses that Setl, unlike other blockchain developers, uses a “permissioned ledger.” which is only available for a small amount of trusted parties to see it.

E.U. countries have already been seeking blockchain implementation in different areas.

In April, several E.U. member states and Norway created the European Blockchain Partnership to promote decentralized solutions throughout the union. By late September, it has been joined by 27 countries, including the U.K., France, Germany, and Malta. The Partnership reportedly hopes to make cross-border services — such as logistics and the regulatory sphere — safer and more efficient.

In early October, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) noted that it had budgeted over 1 million euro for monitoring fintech and crypto assets.