Australian Regulator to Investigate Failed $163 Million Blockchain Project

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• The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has appointed an expert panel to review a failed blockchain-based securities exchange upgrade
• The abandoned project, intended to replace the existing Clearing House Electronic Subregister System system, cost AU$250 million
• The inquiry aims to assess ASX’s governance and accountability in pursuing distributed ledger technology

Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has escalated its investigation into the Australian Securities Exchange’s (ASX) failed blockchain-based Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) replacement by appointing a panel of independent experts. The long-delayed project, once touted as a world-first application of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial market infrastructure, was shelved in late 2022, after the ASX had spent more than AU$250 million (US$163 million) on development. The investigation will focus on the frameworks and practices in relation to governance, capability and risk management.

Bitcoins Blockchain Ambitions Scrutinized

The ASX announced in 2017 that it planned to replace the existing Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) system with one built on the blockchain, citing “a broader range of benefits to a wider cross section of the market” in the new model over the 25-year-old model. However, after repeated delays, technical reviews, and a scathing independent assessment by Accenture, the ASX walked away from the project in 2023, acknowledging the solution was “not fit for purpose.”

The US$163 million write-off has left investors and market participants questioning the feasibility of blockchain in large-scale financial systems as well as the oversight that allowed the failure to drag on for so long.

Bitcoins ASX Needs to Understand What Went Wrong

The expert panel will be chaired by Dr Alan Finkel, former Chief Scientist of Australia and a long-time advocate for emerging technologies. He will be joined by Dr Jillian Segal, a former ASIC commissioner with deep regulatory experience, and John O’Sullivan, the former general counsel at the Commonwealth Bank and ex-chair of Credit Suisse Australia.

Their mandate is to help ASIC understand what went wrong with ASX’s governance, risk management, and technology choices, particularly in its partnership with blockchain firm Digital Asset, whose platform underpinned the abandoned system. ASIC added that the newly appointed panel would advise on ASX’s performance in meeting its clearing and settlement obligations, particularly in relation to the decision to pursue—and ultimately abandon—DLT as the backbone of its replacement for the decades-old CHESS system.

“The panel will provide ASIC with a high level of independent advice,” said ASIC Chair Joe Longo, describing the inquiry as a response to “significant public and market interest in the project’s failure.” While the inquiry will not lead to enforcement action directly, ASIC said it remains a matter of reputational importance for the ASX and market integrity.