ASX selects distributed ledger technology to replace CHESS

Australia's main bourse ASX Ltd on Thursday said it would replace its existing technology used to record shareholdings and manage the clearing and settlement of equity transactions in Australia, with blockchain developed by its technology partner Digital Asset (DA).

The market operator's decision to replace the currently used technology, Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS), follows the successful build of distributed ledger technology, also known as blockchain technology, and the completion of extensive suitability testing by ASX and DA over the past two years.