Nasdaq and Hong Kong exchange sharing information on blockchain technology
Hong Kong Monetary Authority is already planning an innovation hub that will test blockchain and distributed ledger solution
The Nasdaq stock market is hoping to bring its blockchain technology to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to its president and chief operating officer Adena Friedman.
In the city on Thursday and Friday last week to meet with clients, Friedman said working on blockchain with the Hong Kong exchange was a priority for the New York-based Nasdaq , after it launched its new platform in May, although a spokesman could not confirm which of its clients had already begun incorporating the new technology.
Blockchain records transaction data in a way that prevents duplications and lowers the risk of certain kinds of fraud. Logged entries, for example, cannot subsequently be rewritten or the dates changed.
Beyond its applications in the banking industry, the technology can be harnessed to verify people’s identities.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) last month said it plans to launch an innovation hub that will test blockchain and distributed ledger solutions.
It said it had begun work on the initiative with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, an initiative founded by the government to enhance its competitiveness in technology. The HKMA is setting up a FinTech Innovation Hub and a FinTech Supervisory Sandbox, initiatives aimed at spurring banks to embrace technology to make financial transactions safer, speedier and more convenient for consumers.