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Securities Commission Malaysia invests in new blockchain blueprint

According to a recent report, it has been a year since Securities Commission Malaysia embarked on their blockchain pilot project in the unlisted and Over-the-Counter (OTC) markets. Having completed the pilot the regulator unveiled the blueprint today at the SCxSC Fintech Conference.

What is an OTC?

OTC refers to securities that are traded outside of a formal exchange like Bursa Malaysia, this includes but is not limited to, bonds, derivatives and the recently introduced equity crowdfunding.

What is Project Castor?

Project Castor a project led by Securities Commission Malaysia in conjunction with a home-grown blockchain company as their technology partner.

While the pilot is built on Ethereum with the ERC20 and ERC721 standards, the Securities Commission considers the blueprint a general guide that should serve as a jumping-off point for further and more in-depth considerations on specific implementation details.

It is also important to note that operators do not necessarily need to possess blockchain technology, they just need to be able to interface with the architecture.

What does it aim to Solve?

  • Information Asymmetry and Transparency Issues

Chief among the challenges in the OTC market is the lack of transparency. Access to such markets is often gatekept by intermediaries which can often lead to information asymmetry which puts smaller players and retail investors at a disadvantage.

The features to build a decentralised, yet private network means buyers and sellers can connect directly with each other without the need for intermediaries.

When the transactions are performed on the blockchain, with the right permissions, a participant on the network can view the entire transaction history of the particular instrument. This will lead to better price discovery and matching.

  • Inefficiencies in Regulatory Reporting

Market operators often have to regularly submit data to the regulator be it for regulatory filing, reporting purposes or supervision. This method is deemed inefficient as not only it’s time-consuming it also does not provide the regulator with real-time data.

Based on the architecture of Project Castor, the regulatory node will enable regulators to have a read-only access to view all transactions in real time. Which in turn will enable the regulator to better perform its duties and reduce the regulatory reporting burden on the industry.

OTC Instruments are Often Bespoke and Complex

The instruments traded in these markets are often bespoke and tailored. Due to the bilateral nature of such deals, the process of settlement is often complex, having to rely on intermediaries such as brokers, custodian banks, escrows, etc. to maintain trust between both parties.

“Smart Contracts” on the blockchain can be used to codify any tailored or bespoke form of products, and are self-executing based on pre-defined criteria.

Take for example Equity Crowdfunding, where only when a campaign is fully funded can funds be disbursed to the issuers. In this scenario, the code can be conditioned to disburse to the issuers once it meets the fundraising requirement or to return the money to all the investors should the target not be met.

An Increasingly Progressive Regulator

Securities Commission Malaysia is firmly planting its position as a progressive regulator with forward-looking initiatives from recent years ranging from equity crowdfunding, peer to peer financing, robot-advisory and finally Project Castor.

On the ICOs front, they have also shifted from the stance of buyers beware to coming up with a framework for ICO for Q1 of 2019.

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SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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