Blame game rages over ASX’s failed CHESS system blockchain upgrade

cointelegraph.com:

Digital Asset — the New York firm responsible for Australian Securities Exchange’s now-abandoned blockchain-based clearing system — has blamed the securities exchange for dropping its blockchain plans.

Meanwhile, representatives of the ASX have clapped back in statements to Cointelegraph, calling the claims misleading.

For the last seven years, the ASX was poised to be the world’s first securities exchange to adopt blockchain technology, which would be in partnership with the New York-based firm. However, in a u-turn, ASX announced on May 17 that it would be abandoning the upgrade and likely look at more conventional tech.

According to a recent report from The Australian, Eric Saraniecki, the co-founder of Digital Asset told the attendees of a June 8 parliamentary joint committee on corporations and finance that there were two main reasons why the blockchain upgrade resulted in failure.

First, Saraniecki alleged that ASX was unwilling to hand over important test data that would’ve allowed Digital Asset to better test the functionality of the new system.

He said he was unsure why the ASX was so reluctant to hand over this key data, but it ultimately caused Digital Asset to have to make “assumptions in a vacuum.”

Second, Saraniecki said that despite the ASX talking publicly about a “big bang” method of replacing its nearly 30-year-old CHESS platform, it was simultaneously telling Digital Asset to preserve antiquated elements of the old system. This reportedly led to further discord between the two companies and the eventual failure of the upgrade’s implementation.

However, in comments shared with Cointelegraph, ASX’s Non-Executive Director David Curran said the issue was a lack of communication from Digital Asset regarding