It was supposed to be a game changer, a major step forward in the use of blockchain technology, raised from a clever but vague idea to the heart of real-world financial markets.
After two years of research, the Australian Stock Exchange appointed a company called Digital Asset Holdings in 2017 to create a distributed ledger system to replace Chess (Clearing House Electronic Subregister System), ASX’s 25-year-old clearing and settlement system. built.
Five years later, many examples of blockchain technology exist on stock exchanges – for example, the Deutsche Börse or Switzerland’s SIX Digital Exchange – but at the time, it was very ambitious, more than any of them. It was seen as trying to do something on a complex scale.Example.
It turned out to be too complicated.
After several delays, in August Accenture was asked to investigate the status of the project. The consultant’s report identified issues ranging from timelines to communications to complexity, suggesting that more than 63% of his implementations, which ASX indicated as nearly ready, were not complete.
Then, in November, ASX announced it would scrap the project and write off as much as A$255 million ($173 million) in technology costs. A parliamentary committee followed, raising questions about ASX’s culture, governance and technical capabilities.
