BNP Paribas connects to major stock exchanges with DAML smart contracts

Published at: Sept. 15, 2020

BNP Paribas’ securities arm has partnered with Digital Asset to develop a number of real-time trade and settlement applications using DAML-based smart contracts, the firm announced on Sept. 15.

The new DAML-driven apps will connect BNP Paribas Securities Services with major global stock exchanges like the Australian Securities Exchange, or ASX, and the Hong Kong Exchange, or HKEX.

The apps will provide market participants in the Asia Pacific with real-time access to ASX’s and HKEX’s upcoming blockchain-based trading and settlement platforms. BNP Paribas will specifically connect to the ASX’s blockchain-powered equity transaction platform known as the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or CHESS.

Alongside connecting various blockchain-based platforms, the new DAML apps will be also available to clients in markets that have not integrated distributed ledger technology, the announcement notes.

One of the apps comprises a smart elections service for corporate actions. Due in 2021, the app is designed to provide instant access to all the corporate action chain data like dividend reinvestment or purchase offer decisions. It is expected to reduce processing times and improve operational efficiency as well as enable investors to make decisions based on the most relevant market data.

Introduced in April 2016, DAML stands for Digital Asset Modeling Language and represents an expressive language designed for financial institutions to model and execute agreements through DLT and smart contracts.

Both the ASX and HKEX have emerged as partners of Digital Assets. In 2019, the ASX and Digital Asset signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that the stock exchange will support DAML as part of its CHESS blockchain registry. As reported, ASX’s CHESS system is coming in 2021.

In October 2018, HKEX partnered with Digital Asset to accelerate post-trade processes and reduce settlement risks. 

The DAML smart contract language is seeing increased implementation within major global blockchain initiatives. On Sept. 14, China’s national blockchain project, the Blockchain Services Network, announced DAML support to develop decentralized applications on its platform. In early September, Singapore’s major investment holding company, Singapore Exchange, issued its first digital bond powered by DAML.

Tags
Related Posts
Singapore Exchange uses blockchain to issue $300m digital bond
Singapore Exchange (SGX), a major investment holding company in Singapore, has issued its first digital bond powered by blockchain technology. As officially announced on Sept. 1, SGX deployed its digital asset issuance platform to conduct a 400 million Singapore dollar ($294 million) 5.5-year public bond issuance for major local food and agri-business company, Olam International. Focused on Asia bond markets, the new digital bond was enabled by cooperation with SGX’s established blockchain partners like HSBC Singapore and investment firm Temasek. As part of the joint initiative, HSBC provided its on-chain payments solution allowing instant settlement in multiple currencies to handle …
Technology / Sept. 4, 2020
South Korean Shinhan Bank joins Klaytn’s blockchain governance council
Shinhan Bank, one of the largest banking institutions in South Korea, has entered into a partnership with Klaytn, a global blockchain platform developed by Kakao's subsidiary Ground X. According to the Monday announcement, Shinhan Bank has joined Klaytn’s blockchain governance council and become a member of the co-governance of the Klaytn blockchain. As part of the new partnership, Shinhan will be also involved in the development of Klaytn-based digital services to support fintech innovation. Launched in June 2019, Klaytn is a blockchain service provider focusing on integrating blockchain solutions into enterprise-grade infrastructures. The Klaytn blockchain is a hybrid blockchain network, …
Adoption / July 5, 2021
Billionaire UK newspaper owner calls DeFi technology 'revolutionary'
Alexander Lebedev, the owner of U.K. newspapers Evening Standard and The Independent, along with Russian publication Novaya Gazeta, has spoken glowingly of the potential for cryptocurrency and smart contracts to revolutionize finance. In an extensive 1800 word opinion piece published in The Independent on October 13, the billionaire predicted blockchain tech will disrupt what he described as a parasitic global banking oligopoly, asserting that “blockchain technologies and smart contracts will make it unnecessary to employ the vast majority of people in the financial sector.” Although he thinks the current “explosive growth of DeFi platforms is driven by a rapid influx …
Technology / Oct. 13, 2020
Hong Kong and Thailand Pilot DLT-Based Project for Cross-Border Payments
Hong Kong and Thailand’s central banks have stepped closer to implementing a joint central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border payments. On Jan. 22, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) officially announced the outcomes of a joint CBDC research project called Project Inthanon-LionRock. Alongside publishing a joint press release, the banks have issued a detailed 90-page report providing an exhaustive analysis of the potential risks and benefits of CBDCs for real-time money transfers, liquidity management, regulatory compliance, and other aspects of finance. Inthanon-LionRock project was initiated in May 2019 After the HKMA and the …
Blockchain / Jan. 22, 2020
HSBC, BNP Paribas, StanChart, Others Launch Hong Kong Blockchain Trade Finance Platform
A new blockchain trade finance platform developed by a dozen banks, among them HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Standard Chartered, launched this week in Hong Kong, Reuters reported Oct. 31. The platform, dubbed eTrade Connect, aims to improve efficiency in the financing of international trade by reducing the time needed to approve trade loan applications from thirty-six to just four hours. HSBC is reported to have earned $2.52 billion in trade-finance revenue in 2017, making it one of the global banking leaders in the industry. As of 2017, trade finance transactions were worth over $9 trillion, and the industry remains heavily …
Blockchain / Nov. 2, 2018