Computershare, a leading provider of share registrar, and SETL, an institutional payment and settlement infrastructure based on blockchain technology, have today announced a joint initiative to establish securities ownership registers using blockchain technology.

The initiative will initially focus on the Australian market and will assess the possibility of creating an immutable register of securities ownership using blockchain technology. Computershare will bring together issuers, asset owners, brokers, regulators and market infrastructure providers to propose an “open platform” which meets the needs of all industry participants. SETL will provide its blockchain technology and expertise to establish a financial-grade solution for this initiative in Australia.

 “Computershare is uniquely placed to appreciate how blockchain technology will be specifically applied in maintaining ownership registers. We are already the keeper of definitive legal ownership - the ‘Golden Record’ - for our issuer clients and their stakeholders,” stated Paul Conn, President of Global Capital Markets for Computershare. “We chose to work with SETL because they have demonstrable working technology coupled with a deep bench of financial services expertise and experience.”

The initial phase will engage a broad group of participants and will be used to build on SETL’s existing working prototype for transferring ownership of securities. The result is expected to be an open platform which can meet a variety of needs including those of issuers, owners, brokers, custodians, regulators, market infrastructure providers and registrars.

“We are excited to be working with Computershare on this joint initiative. They have an unrivalled position in understanding the needs and requirements of issuers and owners alike. Their focus on client servicing and their understanding of the lifecycle of securities issuance and ownership makes them natural leaders in this field”, said Peter Randall, the CEO of SETL.

In addition, the companies have demonstrated Australia’s first working blockchain capital markets solution at Computershare’s annual Investor and Analyst day.