Australian Securities Exchange Debuts Infrastructure Replacement as Blockchain Switch Begins

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has released the first code for its replacement app development tool based on blockchain, the company confirmed in a press release on May 7.

The new platform, dubbed the Customer Development Environment (CDE), builds on the exchange’s previous offering, Chess, which will now be retired.

The initial features, which hinge on distributed-ledger technology (DLT), began a rollout at the end of April, with ASX drip-feeding more to users in roughly two-month intervals before the platform is fully live next year.

The scheme is a joint partnership with Digital Asset Holdings, the United States-based DLT firm formerly chaired by Blythe Masters.

“We know our progress is being watched internationally and is an important bellwether for the technology's adoption,” Peter Hiom, ASX’s deputy CEO, commented in the press release. He continued:

“It represents the first time market participants anywhere in the world can experience the benefits of ‘taking a node’ and establishing direct connectivity to a golden source record of real-time data via distributed ledger technology.”

Chess, developed in the 1990s, forms critical infrastructure for ASX, which uses it to handle operations such as clearing, settlement and asset registration.

In addition to DLT, the new CDE will also make use of smart contracts via DAML, an open source language developed by Digital Asset.

“With the delivery of the CDE, ASX customers get their first glimpse of what the new CHESS system can provide,” Digital Asset’s new chief executive, Yuval Rooz, added.

As Cointelegraph reported, the original plan was to launch CDE last year, with ASX opting for a delay in order to conduct further testing.