tZERO announced that its Boston Security Token Exchange LLC (BSTX) joint venture with BOX Digital Markets received approval for its rulebook for the nation’s first regulated blockchain-enabled securities exchange, which offers faster settlement, proprietary and transparent blockchain data feeds, and improved market quality for early-stage companies.
BSTX board member, tZERO interim CEO and chief legal officer Alan Konevsky, said in a statement: “This is a watershed event in the digital evolution of the securities markets and the trading experience. With BOX Digital’s experience in building and operating a sophisticated securities exchange and tZERO’s industry-leading blockchain technology innovation, we have brought together our organizations’ combined expertise to drive innovation.”
BSTX strives to offer U.S. capital markets three main benefits:
- Faster Settlements. Market participants will be able to elect accelerated settlement (i.e., T+0 or T+1) for securities listed on BSTX. This approach is consistent with the accelerated settlement capabilities supported by the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) and the Depository Trust Company (DTC).
- Blockchain-Secured Market Data. Market participants will be able to view proprietary market data related to trading activity occurring on BSTX through its private, permissioned blockchain, increasing transparency.
- Access for Early-Stage Companies. Issuers will have access to innovative solutions to improve trading quality by unlocking liquidity and democratizing access to companies and assets.
In June 2018, tZERO and BOX Digital announced a joint venture to build the first blockchain-integrated and compliant national securities exchange. BSTX operates a fully automated, price/time priority execution system for the trading of certain securities and the BSTX Market Data Blockchain, which records certain order and transaction information occurring on BSTX.