New York based Bitcoin exchange Coinsetter today announced Project High Line, a new venture that aims to improve how trades across Wall Street are cleared and settled through the application of Bitcoin’s blockchain technology.
According to Coinsetter, the most immediate advantage to Project High Line’s “On-Blockchain Settlement” system in the bitcoin market is a new attainment of stark transparency. The technology in Project High Line will allow any client who buys or sells bitcoin on the Coinsetter exchange to have a line-of-sight view of their funds, on the blockchain, after trades are executed. No middleman, such as an account balance on a website, will be necessary to verify the location or ownership of funds.
Coinsetter began developing Project High Line, a professional-grade “On-Blockchain Settlement” solution, in late 2014. On-Blockchain Settlement is the process of binding trade execution directly to transactions on the bitcoin blockchain. Currently, most trades that take place across Wall Street involve numerous intermediaries who reassign ownership of assets utilizing slow, nontransparent and outdated technology. Bank transfers used to settle payments for trades are also limited in their capabilities. By introducing a transparent, decentralized public ledger into the trade settlement process, Project High Line can bring benefits to market participants across various markets.
At its core, Project High Line aims to solve the problem of having to place trust an exchange or intermediary. On-Blockchain Settlement is a shift from the status quo on Wall Street, allowing market participants to have full visibility behind trade settlement with tangible access to moving their assets 24/7. Launching in winter 2015, Project High Line supplants old transaction rails, allowing users to opt-in to a system that ensures their funds are exactly where promised.
Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO of Coinsetter, said, “Trades made in markets across Wall Street today are cleared using opaque systems that, while potentially trustworthy, are simply outdated. Trades in many markets, for instance, are still not settled in real-time. Project High Line will introduce mechanisms that settle trades in near real-time, 24/7. Additionally, the accounting involved in tracking and reconciling asset movements between global intermediaries will be dramatically improved, as On-Blockchain Settlement creates a traceable P2P atmosphere.”
Lukasiewicz added, “Coinsetter’s Project High Line is an important application of blockchain technology that reforms outdated clearing and settlement rails, just as the High Line Park, built over outdated railway infrastructure, has forever revitalized downtown New York City and increased its value.”
To view the official announcement from Coinsetter, click here.