The Australian Securities Exchange has postponed the launch of its new blockchain-based settlement system by six months following user concerns about the scope of the technical changes required and the tight timeline.
In April, the ASX confirmed plans to begin the switch from its Chess post-trade settlement system to a new blockchain-based platform provided by Digital Asset between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
The timetable rang alarm bells at major market players, who expressed their worries in response to a consultation paper issued by the Exchange to detail the programme.
The ASX says that in response to the feedback it has decided to switch to a new go live date of March-April 2021, and extend the user testing period by six months. The Exchange has also rolled back the timeline for seven new features set to be introduced at launch, including foreign currency settlement and account balance data.
While a number of respondents expressed fears over the ASX's plans for a Big Bang switch to DLT, the Exchange has held firm to its initial plans.
In its report on the consultation, the Exchange states: "ASX acknowledges this feedback, but remains of the view informed by previous experience transitioning critical market infrastructure systems - that the single cutover weekend is the most appropriate solution and is lower risk than other alternatives such as running multiple systems in parallel."