Blockchain technology will power a new platform launched by HSBC.
Reuters reports that the British banking giant is releasing Digital Vault in 2020. The blockchain-based custody solution will grant investors real-time data for securities that are bought on private markets.
Paper records primarily comprising private placement transactions will be swapped for blockchain records, making HSBC’s service one of the biggest deployments of the emerging technology, reports Reuters.
While HSBC is not revealing cost-benefit analysis figures to justify the move to a blockchain platform, the bank is anticipating a dramatic rise in the global value of private placements, which is expected to reach $7.7 trillion by 2022, up 60% from 2017.
HSBC has been exploring blockchain technology as a means to streamline paper intensive procedures that involve redundancies and several intermediaries. In 2018, the British banking giant used blockchain technology to settle $250 billion worth of foreign exchange trades.
In September it also processed the first yuan-denominated blockchain-based letter of credit transaction. Commenting on the industry milestone at that time, Ajay Sharma, HSBC’s regional head of global trade and receivables finance for Asia-Pacific, remarked,
“Clearly we are hoping that through this technology, the unit cost of doing a transaction comes down, along with other benefits, such as speed.”
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