Blockchain System Cracks U.S. Equities Market for Certain Trades

A select group of U.S. equity trades is being settled using a private blockchain as Paxos Trust Co. pushes for approval to offer its service to more dealers.

Broker-dealers Credit Suisse Group AG and Nomura Holdings Inc.’s Instinet are swapping cash for stocks using the Paxos Settlement System, the first operational use of a private blockchain in U.S. equity markets, Paxos co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Charles Cascarilla said in an interview. He expects Societe Generale SA to join soon.

“This is just the first piece of it,” he said. “We’re proving the process is working and capable of handling ...