The chief of the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) announced the company’s impending shift to blockchain technology could produce opportunities for the broader securities industry.

In results call for H1 2020 Thursday, published by ZDNet, ASX CEO Dominic Stevens stated:

“We’re very excited about the long-term benefits this can bring to clearing and settlement specifically, and to the efficiency of the securities industry in Australia generally.”

Precisely, Stevens was addressing the ASX’s expansion of a blockchain-based replacement for its now-aging clearing system named CHESS. Work has been continuous for many years in association with U.S. firm Digital Asset (DA), which is operating on the blockchain technology underpinnings of the platform.

The industry testing is now set for July 2020, according to ZDNet. DA stated that the process was presumed to take about a year when it gained backing from the ASX in its $35 million in Series C funding in Dec. 2019.

The opportunities the digital ledgers offer to securities clearing are “being recognized by consumers, and third parties and these opportunities are growing in a range of areas including process automation and risk management,” according to Stevens.

With ASX grabbing an early lead when it comes to repairing with blockchain, other industry players have been soliciting support from the bourse, its CEO stated. Nevertheless, while that potentially gives the firm new business options, it’s leaving that option for further down the road as the primary business is “very, very strong.”

As per an earlier ZDNet report, the ASX disclosed an AU$250 million (US$68 million) after-tax profit from revenue of AU$546 million (US$367).

Apart from its DLT work, ASX is gazing at other new technologies to redesign itself for the digital age.

“We’re transforming our entire technology stack from the operational databases and communications infrastructure we use to the way we deploy distributed ledger, cloud, big data, AI tools,” said Stevens.