Vanguard are testing a blockchain based FX platform

The investment giants Vanguard are testing a platform that will allow asset managers to trade currencies while avoiding the big investment banks via blockchain.

Today (3rd October) Bloomberg reported that a source familiar with the matter said the  massive US investment company has  tested a blockchain platform that has been operational for over two months while handling several trades already.

Campbell Adams, a former senior currency trader at Deutsche Bank, thinks that this could happen if enough users join Vanguard’s platform. He went on to say:

“In theory, it sounds great because you can reduce your costs if you can match directly with someone else who has a countervailing interest. Yet it will require a critical mass of users.”

They are not the first major financial company to test blockchain technology but they potentially could disrupt the industry and some higher powers in FX. I cant see the likes of Citi and Deutsche Bank being too happy about the development if it is to work and catch on. But this is what the technology is supposed to do, make things cheaper and more accessible.