There Is No “There” There

After announcing its intention to incorporate blockchain into the software update for the Australian stock exchange, they have reversed course.  Blockchain will not be incorporated in their new systems.

I have said for some time that blockchain is a solution looking for a problem, and that we have not seen any meaningful application beyond fraud cryptocurrency is the tell:

Australia's stock market operator said it will no longer attempt to rebuild its software platform with blockchain-based technology, one of the highest-profile repudiations of the once-feted concept best known for powering cryptocurrency.

ASX Ltd frustrated market participants in November by "pausing" a rebuild of its all-in-one trading, settlement and clearing software based on the decentralised computing concept, after an external review found it had to be largely reworked after seven years of development. 

The company has since said it is considering options for another attempt at the rebuild of the 30-year-old software, but at a meeting with participants this week it said it would not involve blockchain or related "distributed ledger technology" (DLT).

Asked if the next attempt would "go down the more conventional route, that is without the focus on DLT (or) blockchain", exchange project director Tim Whiteley told the meeting that "while we continue to explore all the options, certainly we will need to use a more conventional technology than in the original solution in order to achieve the business outcomes".

ASX supplied Reuters with a recording of the May 17 meeting.

The statement signals the end of what was to be one of the world's most prominent use cases of the concept that promises to accelerate online transactions by processing them securely in multiple locations.

Ummm ……… Have you seen processing times for cryptocurrency?  We are talking hours if not days to process transactions. 

Much of the recent work in cryptocurrency has been attempts to reducing the processing time so that it can be used as, you know, actually currency.

If buying a stick of gum at the 7-Eleven takes 4 hours and has a transaction cost of fifteen dollars, this is in no way shape or form a currency.