Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australia’s post-trade equity market.

Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised.

ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board.

ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday.

Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey)