The Post-Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group an initiative that started last year by industry executives, academia, and regulators has announced new membership and three advisors to the organization. The group’s mission is to share and research information on how distributed ledger technology can reshape the post-trade ecosystem.

PTDL has just announced it has appointed three new advisors and has updated its membership numbers. The third largest multinational professional services firm in the world Ernst & Young (EY) is focusing on building a consultancy operation with PTDL and will advise and assist companies interested in the protocol. Norton Rose Fulbright will work with legislation, and regulatory policy and Citigate Dewe Rogerson will help with public relations. Additionally, PTDL has also informed the public that 37 post-trade financial institutions are now involved with the project.

The additional membership includes exchanges, banks, clearing houses, central banks, and government representatives. The list includes groups such as Société Générale, the London Stock Exchange, CME Group, HSBC, UniCredit, Euroclear, State Street, and many more institutions. Additional organizations will be added over the course of the year. Back in November of 2015 when the London Stock Exchange announced the initiative, it said the PTDL group was meant to help work with the public and authorities dealing with this new technology. All of the institutions understand that the protocol will be disruptive mitigating risk and cost efficiency within the financial sector. The London Stock Exchange said back in November:

“We believe that driving innovation and developing new products using this exciting new technology will significantly reduce risk and margin requirements while delivering the opportunity for deeper regulatory oversight. The technology needs to be developed in a considered and rigorous manner, in partnership with clients, to provide the right service and benefit to them. Given our long experience in post-trade, our group has significant technical expertise to bring to the discussion.”

Many corporations and companies are beginning to realize the true potential of distributed ledgers and want to leverage the protocol to better legacy systems. Sandra Ro, Executive Director, Digitization Lead, CME Group and organising committee member of PTDL Group said of the latest membership announcement:

“The potential impact of Blockchain and distributed ledger technology on the post-trade industry is huge, and as with all pioneering developments, there is great excitement but also uncertainty. Through PTDL Group, we are connecting post trade practitioners, regulated exchanges, regulators and central banks on this issue to see how best it could benefit the post-trade industry. However, in order to do this effectively, we need external partners with specific specialisms, and we are delighted to be working with EY, Norton Rose Fulbright and Citigate Dewe Rogerson.”

Large blockchain-related organizations and consortiums are beginning to form all across the globe. PTDL is just another large group behind the many institutions wanting in on this technology. Interestingly enough a lot of the banks and legacy firms are members of other consortiums such as R3 CEV. The Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group is growing larger and seems to be full steam ahead when it comes to blockchains changing finance.

Source: Press Release Header Image: legalexecutiveinstitute.com