Swiss digital asset bank AMINA, Incore Bank and Deutsche Börse’s Crypto Finance have conducted a second set of trials for digital asset settlement using the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL). The latest pilot involved client transactions in a production environment.
The permissioned distributed ledger GCUL was integrated with the banks’ core banking systems, with client accounts recorded on GCUL. This enabled crypto transactions on the Crypto Finance platform to settle in real time using commercial bank money, through transfers between clients of AMINA and Incore. Crypto Finance took on the role of Currency Operator, a central party defining the rules for the platform’s operation.
Any interbank payment always has two legs: the client money movement and the interbank settlement. In these trials the interbank side was settled conventionally via the Swiss RTGS system. But the real efficiency gains come from netting. Client side transactions settle instantly on GCUL, while the obligations between the banks themselves, can be deferred and netted. Over the course of a settlement cycle, multiple client transactions between the same pair of banks offset each other, and only the net difference needs to settle between intermediaries.
That matters particularly for crypto, where onchain trading activity routinely involves large volumes of offsetting transactions between the same set of counterparties. The more institutions that join the network, the greater the netting benefit, a point emphasized in the announcement. Crypto Finance CTO Nathaniel Zollinger told Ledger Insights that efficiency and netting are core goals of the initiative.
Article continues …
Want the full story? Pro subscribers get complete articles, exclusive industry analysis, and early access to legislative updates that keep you ahead of the competition. Join the professionals who are choosing deeper insights over surface level news.
