Nasdaq officially launches blockchain-based shareholder voting system pilot project

Global stock market giant Nasdaq has announced that it is developing an electronic voting system for shareholders based on blockchain technology.

According to Nasdaq representatives, the trial was conducted on the Nasdaq OMX Tallinn Stock Exchange, the only regulated securities market in Estonia, as the first step in a project aimed at getting shareholders of listed companies more involved in the voting process.

Representatives said that currently these shareholder participation voting processes are out of touch with market demand. People involved in the project cited statistics showing that shareholder participation in management voting processes of listed companies is very low, about 1%.

Representatives said that the Estonian market is an ideal platform for testing the system, and Nasdaq will be able to access investor data through the country's e-Residency platform to create voting accounts for users. Estonia's enthusiasm for IT innovation is also one of the reasons why Nasdaq chose the region for the trial, which is more likely to gain potential support and, if successful, will be widely used.

Nasdaq President Hans-Ole Jochumsen said in a statement:

“Estonia’s strong information environment and forward-thinking thinking, combined with the flexibility afforded by the market’s size, create a unique opportunity for us to pilot e-voting in Estonia.”

This trial is the second blockchain trial project officially launched by Nasdaq. The first project is Nasdaq’s equity trading platform Linq. Currently, the Linq platform is still in the testing phase and is only open to a small group of test users.

In addition to stating the goals of the trial, Nasdaq did not release specific details of the trial design, such as what type of blockchain Nasdaq will use for the trial, which companies in the blockchain industry will work with the trial, and what the final product will look like.

However, the statement hinted at some of the features that the product will include, such as enabling users to participate in shareholder voting without leaving their office or home, suggesting that the project may require the development of mobile applications.

Nasdaq said it hopes to complete the project this year.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/nasdaq-shareholder-voting-estonia-blockchain/
By Pete Rizzo
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/nasdaq-blockchain-voting)