A group of major Central Securities Depositories to research crypto asset custody

A group of central securities depositories (CSDs) is researching possible ways to join hands in developing infrastructure for token custody under the patronage of the International Securities Services Association, CoinDesk reports.

The group, which is now counting 30 institutions, has got Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and NSD Russia amongst its key members. The organisations will endeavour to figure out how to apply their experience in guarding stock certificates to security solutions for crypto assets.

“A new world of tokenised assets and blockchain is coming. It will probably disrupt our role as CSDs,” said Artem Duvanov, the NSD's head of innovation. “The whole group decided we will be focusing on tokenised assets, not just blockchain but on real digital assets.”

Following the research into security tokens, the CSDs group is going to present its report on "Safekeeping of Crypto-Assets" at the Sibos 2019 London conference. While the study concentrates on securities only, NSD’s chief architect Alexander Chekanov is certain the findings will similarly apply to cryptocurrencies.