Santiago Stock Exchange first Latin American country to use blockchain

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On August 27, the Santiago Stock Exchange (STE) announced that they had partnered with the Central Securities Depository (DCV) and Gtd on an agreement to create a technology consortium that will use an assortment of blockchain-based applications for use with the financial exchange. This made the STE the first exchange in Latin America to employ such a technology.

This new agreement helps to create a business blockchain network that will help to connect the stock market and its customers to nodes throughout the world. This will be done using the Hyperledger-based platform, a platform that is already being used in countries such as Italy and Russia.

In a statement, the general manager of the Central Securities Depository, Fernando Yañez, explained of the agreement, “Since 2017 we have been working with other securities deposits in the world in the application of blockchain to the services of our industry, to which is added the project that we are carrying out with the Central Bank of Chile to incorporate this technology in the issuance of its financial instruments.”

Upon signing the agreement, these three companies formed the Technical Committee. This project has been worked on for the last two years, and it is expected that within the next 18 months that they will be able to completely institute the Business Blockchain Network as a collection of nodes. According to the release, this is expected to “reduce applications, times, and costs of administrative processes.” The project will be broken down into three phases, with each phase taking about three months to properly implement.

In a statement, the general manager of the Santiago Stock Exchange, José Antonio Martínez, explained that this “Innovation is a strategic pillar for the Santiago Stock Exchange. Through this Consortium, we seek to generate the best conditions for the stock and financial business, with innovative and world-class solutions.”<

While it will be 18 months until the entire project is completed, customers will still be able to use the platform with the added security and efficiency. Clients are expected to see an increased number of features during that time but should face no challenges as the project is being completed.

This continues the impressive expansion of technology across Latin American financial circuits. Two weeks ago, Latin American banks were able to offer clients the ability to make payments across borders using cryptocurrencies. This gave 20 million customers the ability to make these kinds of transactions immediately. This project was completed in partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange Bitex.