Nasdaq to use blockchain to manage proxy voting system

On October 23, at the European 2015 Trade & Technology Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism conference held in London, Nasdaq CEO Bob Greifeld announced a major decision that the stock exchange will use blockchain to manage the proxy voting system.

What is a proxy voting system? We can think of it as a complex, but very important, task that a listed exchange is responsible for handling.

It allows shareholders to participate in voting at the company's annual meeting without having to attend the AGM.

The financial news also quoted him as saying that the move would first be tested on the Nasdaq market in Estonia.

So what is blockchain? It is the technology behind Bitcoin, which has been supported by many financial institutions and experts.

At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Greyfield announced:

“We’re going to put proxy voting on the blockchain, an immutable ledger system where people can vote with their phones and it’s recorded forever.”

Nasdaq’s support for blockchain is not a surprising move, as Nasdaq CIO Brad Peterson has previously shared his views on blockchain’s potential to change the stock market.

Greifeld further stated:

“I was impressed that by the end of the year, trades in private market securities were being cleared in 10 minutes.”

He further praised blockchain technology and explained how it can shorten the time required by traditional financial institutions, pointing out that trust is inherent in a blockchain environment, so people can achieve faster cross-level transactions.

It is reported that in September this year, the blockchain company Chain successfully raised US$30 million in financing, and Nasdaq was the lead investor.

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Original article: http://www.newsbtc.com/2015/10/22/blockchain-to-help-nasdaq-manage-proxy-voting/
By Nikhil Gupta
Compiled by: Satuoxi
Editor: Satuoxi
Source (translation): Babbitt Information