Deeper look needs to be taken at blockchain: EU watchdog

The European Union’s markets watchdog will study blockchain in more depth after an initial analysis showed it was too early to say whether the technology poses any threat to financial markets. Blockchain or distributed ledger technology currently underpins the virtual currency bitcoin. Blockchain’s proponents say it has the potential to “disrupt” financial markets by making payments and the settling of securities transactions, in particular, far cheaper. The European Securities and Markets Authority said on Thursday it had looked at whether blockchain could meet technical, governance, legal and regulatory requirements to keep securities markets safe. “It is too early at this stage to form a definite opinion on whether DLT (blockchain) will be able to address these issues in an efficient way,” the watchdog said in a statement. “ESMA stresses that firms willing to use DLT (blockchain) should be mindful of the existing regulatory framework.” The watchdog published a discussion paper asking for more views on blockchain. Reuters