Japanese securities brokerage Daiwa concludes blockchain pilot

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Japan-based Daiwa Securities Group has completed a blockchain trade matching pilot, completing the second stage of testing of its proof-of-concept model, Cointelegraph first reported.

Daiwa, considered to be the second largest securities brokerage in Japan, has been working with as many as 26 industry partners in developing the pilot, including banks and institutional investors, to develop a platform for delivering more efficient post-trade processing on blockchain.

The pilot, known as “JPX Proof-of-Concept Testing for Utilization of Blockchain/DLT in Capital Market Infrastructure,” will help reduce minimize operational costs while making it easier to develop new products, through standardised processes and workflows.

By standardizing the “business rules and procedures of trade matching,” such as the methodology for calculating unit price, settlement amounts and commission, the blockchain model is seen by Daiwa as a more efficient solution to trade matching than current systems.

According to a press release from Daiwa Securities Group, the firm believes collaboration with industry through a new consortium could help administer the platform and oversee its development.

“We may need to develop a new organization or a consortium which holds responsibility of the system development and administration, budget management and fund development. We are going to discuss more about the framework of collaboration with the market participants and to conduct feasibility study in order to put this concept […] into action,” according to Daiwa.

The pilot is the latest significant blockchain project to come from Japan, at a time of increasing activity around proof-of-concept trials in the country.

On Tuesday, Japanese megabank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced its latest PoC on R3’s Marco Polo trade finance platform.

The Sumitomo Mitsui proof of concept coincided with the release of a new research paper by the country’s central bank, the Bank of Japan, exploring the benefits of central bank digital currencies.

While the bank doesn’t yet have any formal plans to launch its own cryptocurrency, the report highlighted a number of benefits, such as reduced transaction costs and improved accountability in the financial system versus legacy payment infrastructure.

With the Daiwa proof of concept hailed a success, the bank will now look to bring its concept to market in what could amount to significant progress for the exchange and its customers.