Blockchain Will Transform Settlement from Process to Property, Platonic CEO Says скачать в хорошем качестве

Blockchain Will Transform Settlement from Process to Property, Platonic CEO Says

Violet Abtahi envisions decade-long shift to asset-centric financial systems powered by smart contracts ELMHURST (JLN) ― October 23, 2025 ―The financial industry stands ready to adopt blockchain technology for real-time settlement, though full implementation will take a decade as regulators, firms, and institutions synchronize their efforts, according to Violet Abtahi, founder and CEO of Platonic. "The future is going to be one where everyone who wants access—whether you have a bank account or not—will have a digital wallet," Abtahi said in a recent interview. "With this digital wallet, you can interact with the world: buy cryptocurrencies, stocks, options. You can trade cross-firm, cross-country, and cross-continent." Abtahi argues that the technology has proven itself through cryptocurrency markets, where real-time settlements have functioned since Bitcoin's inception without relying on traditional systems. "We can replicate the same smart contract technology for traditional finance," she said. "Regulators are more ready than ever; there have been many test concepts and pilots proving blockchain can solve problems." The shift represents a fundamental change from firm-centric to asset-centric systems, where tokenized securities and cash interact autonomously through programmable rules embedded in smart contracts. "When you create smart contract technologies, you can write all the rules and regulations," Abtahi explained. "By tokenizing an asset and the cash, the asset knows its rules, when it needs to clear, where it belongs, and when it needs to move. Everything happens autonomously and programmably." Commercial paper and foreign exchange markets are positioned as early adopters, with DTCC's Project ION now live and exchange settlements already reducing counterparty risk. Platonic ran a pilot with FX where trades that traditionally settled within 72 hours were completed in less than five minutes, Abtahi said. "Counterparty risk reduction was 90%—a huge number," she noted. "When trillions in assets are freed sooner, there's more capacity to trade and use that money." The blockchain approach maintains the ability to net and batch transactions while automating processes currently handled manually across multiple systems. "The netting process can still be done on blockchain—it depends on the trade requirements," Abtahi said. "This doesn't remove netting or batching; it automates it. The asset carries the logic with it." Rather than eliminating intermediaries, blockchain transforms their role from operational bottlenecks into trusted intermediaries and programmers of software assets. "We still need clearinghouses, brokers, and financial institutions," Abtahi said. "The difference is that many operations will turn from bottlenecks into trust anchors. Middle people managing operations become programmers of these software assets." The move to same-day settlement introduces new risks while eliminating others, Abtahi acknowledged. "If it introduces, say, 5% risk versus eliminating 40% risk, that's a win," she said. "All those risks exist today. T+0 will eliminate a lot of counterparty risk, timing risk, and currency difference." Private blockchains address privacy and error correction concerns that public systems cannot, she added. "Private blockchains program privacy and security laws into the blockchain so assets are private, transactions are observed and approved by a few people, and transactions are double- and triple-checked before submission," Abtahi said. Editor's note: Some quotes were lightly edited for clarity.~[[JJL]] QUESTIONS Why is now the right time for blockchain in the markets? Are we starting to see some of the real-time capabilities of blockchain? What markets are the low hanging fruit? Have any markets been done successfully yet? Do traders lose their ability for netting? What types of intermediaries will be eliminated? Is T+0 worth the risk of not being able to fix errors? How will the courts update to a system with no undo? What will motivate the move to T+0? 00:00:01 - Introduction to the Future of Finance 00:00:21 - The Vision for Globalized Finance 00:00:54 - The Role of Blockchain in Financial Markets 00:01:52 - The Shift from Firm-centric to Asset-centric Systems 00:02:01 - Current Use of Blockchain in Finance 00:03:46 - The Impact of Blockchain on Traditional Financial Systems 00:04:35 - Potential Markets for Blockchain Adoption 00:05:40 - Successful Implementations of Blockchain 00:07:22 - The Role of Intermediaries in a Blockchain-based System 00:09:28 - The Future Role of Intermediaries 00:11:03 - Addressing Risks in T plus Zero Settlements 00:12:01 - The Legal Implications of Blockchain-based Systems 00:13:50 - The Motivation for Moving to T plus Zero