A consortium of major financial institutions, including Citi, JPMorgan, Mastercard, Swift, and Deloitte, are collaborating on a research project to explore the potential of shared ledger technology. The initiative aims to simulate multiasset transactions in U.S. dollars in a regulated setting. The Regulated Settlement Network (RSN) proof-of-concept (PoC) will investigate the possibility of bringing together commercial-bank money, wholesale central-bank money, and securities like U.S. Treasuries and investment-grade debt in a controlled environment.
Debopama Sen, global head of payments at Citi Services, expressed enthusiasm about the opportunities that this project presents for the digital economy. Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president for blockchain and digital assets at Mastercard, highlighted the potential for shared ledger technology to revolutionize dollar settlements by making them programmable, 24/7 and frictionless. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) is overseeing the management of the program with additional participants like TD Bank N.A., U.S. Bank, USDF, Wells Fargo Visa and Zions Bancorp involved in the collaboration.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s New York Innovation Center will serve as a technical observer for the project.
While there are no obligations for participants to continue with further research after the initial phase of this project has ended; however, its focus remains on establishing consensus on the use of shared ledger technology within the US financial system.
Once completed, the findings from this research will be published to further our understanding of shared ledger technology in financial services sector.
Overall this collaborative effort signifies a step towards adopting new technologies that could transform traditional banking methods and make transactions more efficient while increasing transparency within financial systems.
