Myanmar Could See Blockchain Powering its Stock Trading Markets
A prominent Japanese investment banking brokerage will negotiate with the Myanmar government to introduce blockchain technology in payments for stock trading in the country.
A report by Asian publication Nikkei reveals that the Daiwa Securities Group will help adopt blockchain technology for stock trading in Myanmar (formerly Burma) with an aim to implement a blockchain-based trading infrastructure for practical use within the next two years. The distributed ledger platform will be devised to connect the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) – the country’s first and foremost stock exchange- and other local brokerages in the country.
Daiwa’s research arm, along with other units of the company have already tested the blockchain solution using servers similar to those available and in-use in Myanmar. Conducted between June and September, the tests could go some way with convincing the country’s regulators and authorities to switch over to arguably the most promising innovation in the Fintech space, in blockchain technology.
The testing process was to gauge how a blockchain-based payments infrastructure for stock trading would work in a country which routinely sees power outages. Since stock trading began in Myanmar in March 2016, five brokerages have come to exist, with more expected to form in the near future.
Myanmar could represent a perfect use case for blockchain trading, as Nikkei notes:
Blockchain is unfit for high-speed trading, but the Yangon Stock Exchange only matches buy and sell orders twice a day, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., unlike the continuous matching that happens at most bourses. Therefore, Daiwa expects no technical issues to bar introduction of the system.
The blockchain endeavor in Myanmar stands a good chance to see fruition with Daiwa’s involvement in establishing the Yangon Stock Exchange earlier this year. The YSX was established following a joint venture agreement between the Japan Exchange Group, the Daiwa Institute of Research and the Myanmar Economic Bank in 2014, before the YSX opened in late 2015.
Images from Shutterstock.
