Euroclear enters blockchain industry, partners with itBit to develop gold transaction processing system

Euroclear, a post-trade service provider, has announced its first foray into the blockchain industry, partnering with bitcoin exchange and blockchain service provider itBit. The partnership will establish a gold transaction processing system that aims to reduce risk and increase asset liquidity in the London gold market. The new system heralds the emergence of a new generation of settlement services and is expected to be officially launched next year.

In this collaboration, Euroclear plays a product management role, while itBit is responsible for providing technical support.

Angus Scott, head of product planning and innovation at Euroclear, said the collaboration marks the first step in the use of blockchain technology for physical asset settlement. The project will help improve Euroclear's settlement efficiency.

This cooperation is purely for the development of this settlement system, not for the pursuit of blockchain. Because we have to process a large number of transactions and create a large amount of data every day, this project happens to help improve operational efficiency.

Scott said that the UK government's strong support for reforming its financial system was also an important reason why Euroclear decided to participate in this project.

He also pointed out that as Euroclear deepened its research on blockchain technology, it found that this technology was very important for its business development.

Scott admitted that the project was somewhat ambitious, but itBit’s capabilities and experience in the capital markets reassured Euroclear and made it the best partner.

Changing the market structure is not an easy task. You need to consider regulatory, legal and human factors.