Central securities depositories (CSDs) were imposed by regulators in the 1990s to solve the securities settlement problems of the 1980s. They have succeeded admirably in that task but so far only a handful have sought to move decisively beyond it and embrace the new opportunities created by the tokenisation of financial assets on blockchain-based networks. Instead, the majority of CSDs have appealed to their origins in the minds of central bankers and securities market regulators of a generation ago. Ironically, the trust imparted by their record of success and regulated status are precisely the qualities that would enable CSDs to exploit the tokenisation markets.

As investment banks shrink the balance sheet available to buy-side firms that like to trade on credit, the need for an alternative has become urgent. To fill the gap, San Francisco-based Bosonic has adapted the tokenisation and atomic settlement techniques pioneered by the crypto-currency markets. By making settlement of each half of a trade conditional on the delivery of the other half, the need for intermediation by bank is eliminated. And tokenisation of securities in custody on to a blockchain network allows fully funded assets to be used as collateral for credit without leaving their custody account. Rosario Ingargiola, CEO of Bosonic, told Dominic Hobson how it all works.

A Future of Finance Interview
Dominic Hobson talks to Scott Thiel about the launch of TOKO, a fast, secure and cost-effective solution for buying and selling high value assets using blockchain technology

Paris is not the obvious launch pad for a young and ambitious CSD that wants to help the European Central Bank (ECB) fulfil its vision of a single euro money market capable of competing with the United States. But the largest commercial paper market in Europe is a solid foundation on which to build a blockchain-based technology platform that offers issuers, investors and their agents a fully integrated, pan-European issuance, trading and settlement platform for a new class of genuinely international financial instruments. It may become extremely lively as economies emerge from the Pandemic, and access to credit becomes crucial for businesses of all sizes and types

Future of Finance Interview with Richard Byworth, CEO of Diginex [NASDAQ: EQOS]

Dominic Hobson explores Richard's thinking about how cryptocurrency and digital assets have evolved and what solutions Diginex offers in security token issuance, trading and custody and more.

A Future of Finance interview with Saum Noursalehi, CEO of tZero, on what the company is doing in the burgeoning security token markets.

A SUMMARY AND FULL REVIEW OF THE DISCUSSION AT THE WEBINAR ON 20 OCTOBER 2020

An Account of the Discussion at the Walbrook Club on 4 March 2020

L4S is a start-up led by people who know that a successful blockchain revolution in securities clearing and settlement cannot ignore either the technical limitations of the technology or the prevailing dispensation of service providers, market infrastructures, transaction processing technologies and accounting methodologies. If their approach catches on, blockchain in securities services could just be in the foothills of the Slope of Enlightenment.