A host of major US financial services firms - including Citi, JP Morgan, and Visa - are taking part in a Regulated Settlement Network (RSN) proof-of-concept that will explore multi-asset settlement using shared ledger technology.
Run by regulatory agency Sifma, with participation from Swift, Mastercard, TD Bank and others, the PoC will investigate how shared ledger technology can be used to settle tokenised commercial bank money, wholesale central bank money, US Treasury securities and other tokenised assets.
The plan is to develop an interoperable network for multi-asset transactions that aim to operate on a 24/7, programmable shared ledger. Building on the results of a previous industry PoC, this project will further research the settlement of tokenized cash and securities on a common system.
The RSN PoC will be conducted in a test environment and will simulate multi-asset transactions in US dollars.
Raj Dhamodharan, EVP, blockchain and digital assets, Mastercard, says: "The application of shared ledger technology to dollar settlements could unlock the next generation of market infrastructures - where programmable settlements are 24/7 and frictionless."
Charles de Simone, MD, Sifma, adds: "This exploration of shared ledger technology is an important initiative to explore innovations working with digital forms of USD cash and securities, as market participants continue to innovate to support efficient, resilient capital markets."
Findings from the PoC will be published but participants have not committed to any future research.