Paris Europlace, along with seven European banking partners, has launched LiquidShare, a post-trading blockchain infrastructure for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.
BNP Paribas, Caceis, Caisse des Dépôts, Euroclear, Euronext, S2iEM and Societe Generale are all stakeholders in what will become an independent company with the aim to improve SMEs' access to capital markets, improving the transparency and security of post-trading operations using blockchain.
In a joint statement on the launch, the partnership said: “With the financial support of its shareholders, the company aims to develop and operate a post-trading infrastructure that will serve these companies specifically. Eventually, the solution aims to reduce transaction costs.”
The statement explains that LiquidShare harnesses blockchain technology, using a virtual ledger that assembles data for shared distribution between many different users.
This technology has the potential to dramatically simplify the chain of post-trade operations, guaranteeing and facilitating the consolidation of securities registers, all while enabling a higher speed of execution with real-time settlement at T+0.
LiquidShare will be based in Paris and led by Thibaud de Maintenant, who will act as CEO.
According to Maintenant, he will combine functional and technical expertise with innovative solutions to work towards the company’s goal.
Anthony Attia, managing board member of Euronext, will be LiquidShare’s chairman of the supervisory board.
Maintenant said: “With the launch of LiquidShare, we will use the great potential of the blockchain technology to become a key player in the post-trade industry. Supported by shareholders across the European financial market ecosystem, this initiative is the first of its kind.”
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