In cooperation with Accenture, fintech hub The Floor and Intel, Tel Aviv’s stock exchange is developing Blockchain Securities Lending (BSL), one of the first projects of its kind in the world. The use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as the basis of this new trading platform will harness some of the blockchain’s primary advantages and features, such as direct peer-to-peer transactions, Smart Contract, and enhanced security through immutability. All of these are expected to benefit TASE, its custodians and their clients by reducing costs, increasing security and enabling the market to exploit its full potential.
There is currently no central securities lending platform in the Israeli market. Securities lending is at present executed in the capital market, primarily using inter-bank mechanisms within, and if necessary outside, banking group limits. As a result, the market has not been fully exploited to satisfy the potential needs of economic agents. The purpose of this project is to create one central platform that will transform the securities lending market in Israel by enabling direct lending among all the major financial instruments. The platform will function as a one-stop-shop for all securities lending activities, permitting access to larger securities volumes within shorter timeframes, even operating in shorter-term positions.
Hyperledger Sawtooth is the infrastructure on which the project is based – an enterprise Blockchain platform for building Distributed Ledger (DLT) applications. Intel collaborated with Accenture and TASE and The Floor to deliver a private ledger on Hyperledger Sawtooth that utilizes Intel Software Guard Extensions technology to encrypt transaction data. This innovative enhancement helps keep data private among transaction participants and provides closed DLT platform members with additional confidentiality capabilities.
Accenture is leading the initiative by providing project management, systems integration, blockchain and cybersecurity consulting services to support the securities lending platform. The company will play a key role in the development of the platform’s Smart Contracts, one of Hyperledger Sawtooth’s main business attributes.