Nasdaq hasn’t been around Bitcoin’s Block Chain very long, but they like what they see and are moving to integrate fully with its innovations. The new technology the block chain provides intrigues Nasdaq enough to begin a larger integration with their product portfolio, and the ability to make new offerings for their clientele. In the second half of 2015, this will allow Nasdaq to create a block chain-enabled digital ledger program for the expansion and enhancement of the Nasdaq Private Market platform.
Their implementation of the innovative block chain technology will digital services that ease and compliment the issuance, transfer, and management of private company securities. Fredrik Voss, Vice President at Nasdaq, is officially Nasdaq’s Blockchain Technology Evangelist. He will be charged to lead the future growth and development within this company-wide foray. With the production of this new distributed ledger function for securities, using Bitcoin’s block chain technology provides a vast array of improvements over current protocols. These include upgrades in integrity, audit ability, governance and transfer of ownership capabilities.
“Utilizing the block chain is a natural digital evolution for managing physical securities,” said Bob Greifeld, CEO, Nasdaq. “Once you cut the apron strings of a need for the physical, the opportunities we can envision blockchain providing stand to benefit not only our clients, but the broader global capital markets.”
Also read: NASDAQ to Support Development of Digital Currency Marketplace
While Bitcoin and its block chain are currently used mostly for their currency capabilities, this is just their first global application, and a fraction of what they can do going forward. Nasdaq is one of the first in the financial industry to see and use Bitcoin’s block chain for something other than finance and e-commerce. This new level of functionality will provide a new digital, distributed ledger-style solution with accuracy levels that will perfectly complement Nasdaq’s ExactEquity. ExactEquity is their Private Market’s cloud-based equity management solution, which allows private corporations the ability to handle their capitalization table and stock plans with ever greater efficiently.
“We are always looking at new ways to leverage technology to provide client-centric solutions,” Greifeld continued. “Our initial application of Nasdaq’s blockchain technology-enabled offering will modernize, streamline and secure typically cumbersome administrative functions, and will simplify the overwhelming challenges private companies face with manual ledger record-keeping.”
This is just the beginning of Nasdaq’s interest in Bitcoin and its technology. In March, Nasdaq announced the future creation of a digital exchange for Bitcoin and other digital currencies worldwide. Nasdaq is the second-largest global stock exchange after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Will this level of integration inspire NYSE and others in the financial investment space to move towards Bitcoin and its block chain? Share above and comment below.