The operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange has been working with a leading Japanese think tank as part of a months-long exploration of blockchain technology.

The trial was announced today by Nomura Research Institute (NRI), which revealed Japan Exchange Group has been collaborating with it as part of its previously revealed blockchain research. Japan Exchange Group has been experimenting with blockchain applications as one of the early customers of IBM’s Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform.

The testing phase, NRI announced today, will “assess the usability as well as the challenges of blockchain technology when applied to securities markets”.

The project will focus specifically on business use cases, with the expressed goal of developing blockchain prototypes aimed at securities market applications.

Minoru Yokote, senior managing director of NRI, said in a statement:

“As the industry increasingly looks towards what blockchain can provide to enhance operations and technology, we are focused on determining all the challenges and potential benefits of blockchain for future applications across the securities industry.”

NRI began coordinating work on blockchain applications last October, when it announced that it was working with Nomura Securities and SBI Sumishin Net Bank.

In the next phase, the think tank – an affiliate of Nomura Holdings, a major Japanese financial holding company – will also be working with SBI Securities and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

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