Blockchain company iSignthis partners with Australian Stock Exchange

iSignthis Ltd  announced its strategic investment in the NSX Ltd. We also announce our joint venture with the Tier 1 market operator, the National Stock Exchange of Australia Ltd (NSXA), the 100% owned subsidiary of the NSX Ltd. iSignthis has taken 12.96% of NSX and 59% of the new joint venture vehicle Clearpay

ClearPay will compete directly with the ASX owned monopolist, Austraclear, and will enable the NSXA to fully compete with the ASX, using an advanced blockchain based Delivery versus Payment (DvP) platform.

The NSXA will offer digital and digitised asset trading in real time, with multi-currency facilities, based upon digital ledger technology (DLT). Fractional trading will become a possibility, as will real time settlements.

iSignthis has been developing the technology and know-how to deliver ClearPay as a payment system, together with integration to the NSXA trading platform, since early 2018. Our expertise with DLT based trading platforms and exchanges means we will aim to deliver an open blockchain based DvP, that will be accessible by market participants and share registries.

Integration of Paydentity™ will allow the NSXA to be Australia’s first fully “lit” exchange, eliminating the dark pools and high frequency traders that are synonymous with the incumbent monopolist, the ASX. Since early 2019, iSignthis has been making license submissions to the Reserve Bank of Australia, APRA and ASIC, regarding its intentions to launch a ‘ ClearPay’ type service, seeking to challenge the monopoly of the ASX.

ClearPay will leverage the already planned ISXPay® rollout to offer services to the NSXA, in addition to other exchanges, both domestically and internationally. We do not anticipate the need for any further licensing to allow ClearPay to work with the NSXA immediately on launch.

Separate to ClearPay, iSignthis will now seek to finalise its APRA and ASIC licensing, to coincide with (or shortly after) the May 2020 scheduled completion of ISXPay®. iSignthis will then additionally be in a position to provide custodial and depositary solutions to participants, together with retail payments solutions to consumers. iSignthis will be in competition with the ASX across multiple fronts, and we are looking forward to taking up the challenge.

In a statement on Isignthis website it states, “We believe that by bringing competition to the market, and by providing a truly modern, open and transparent exchange, that we will bring substantial benefits to the Australian public, allow businesses access to fresh equity, whilst providing an alternative for the cash equity market.”