CME CME Group Inc

By Telis Demos 

The decentralized ledger system used to record transactions for the digital currency bitcoin has received an endorsement by a group of the world's biggest banks and stock exchanges.

Digital Asset Holdings LLC, a startup trying to develop mainstream uses for blockchain technology and led by star banker Blythe Masters, has raised more than $50 million from 13 investors including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., BNP Paribas SA, CME Group Inc. and Accenture PLC, the company said.

The round was the first major external fundraising for Digital Asset, which is now one of the best-funded startups seeking to apply the blockchain process to Wall Street. Ms. Masters was formerly the global head of commodities at J.P. Morgan, among other senior roles.

The company may announce more funding from additional banks in the coming weeks, people familiar with the talks said.

Digital Asset will work with its investors to continue to research and commercialize platforms known as distributed ledgers--networks in which each participant can update a shared list of transactions--for use in deals involving stocks, derivatives, loans and other assets. Currently, those transactions have to be recorded centrally by banks or other institutions charged with that responsibility, a duplicative process that adds cost and time.

ASX Ltd., operator of Australia's largest stock exchange, said Thursday it had chosen to hire Digital Asset to develop a distributed ledger for clearing and settling stock trades.

"There has been a great deal of discussion about the potential benefits of utilizing distributed ledger technology, but less in the way of real-world deployment," Ms. Masters said in an interview. "This business partnership with ASX is the first example of a large-scale, real-world deployment of such technology."

Though blockchain-based platforms are still in their infancy, banks think there is potential for big cost savings over current mechanisms, some of which were originally developed in the 1970s.

Analysts at Autonomous Research estimate that within five years, blockchain could theoretically cut $16 billion from the $54 billion spent globally on clearing and settlement of trades.

Participants in the fundraising also included Deutsche Börse AG and Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., which operate clearing and settlement mechanisms. Michael Bodson, chief executive of DTCC, joined Digital Asset's board, along with representatives from BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Börse.

Write to Telis Demos at telis.demos@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2016 21:13 ET (02:13 GMT)

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