• The Jamaican Stock Exchange has finished an important digital currency trading pilot
• The pilot was done in collaboration with Blockstation
• The 60-day pilot saw market makers and brokers trade digital currency on trial accounts

According to a press release earlier this week, the Jamaican Stock Exchange and Blockstation have completed the first 60 days of a joint live digital currency trading pilot. The pilot took place with a selected list of market participants which includes broker-dealers, market makers and the Jamaican Central Securities Depository (JCSD).

The pilot was designed to help participants properly understand the lifecycle of a digital asset in hopes of future larger scale investments.

60 day trial

The pilot saw the Jamaican Stock Exchange setting up accounts for their market makers and brokers. Once the accounts were set up, the participants then traded with the accounts over a 60 day period.

While that was going on, the Jamaica Stock Exchange managed certain processes like the clearing, settlement, and custody of cash and digital currencies. They also ensured compliance for all participants.

So far, the pilot has gone well and the management of the stock exchange has expressed their satisfaction with the results.

“The pilot has been very smooth so far and we are quite happy with the results,” said Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the JSE. “We are looking forward to moving to the next stage of the pilot which would eventually include the listing of security tokens.”

Greater things on the horizon

While this pilot has been successful, Blockstation sees it as merely a stepping stone towards larger things, specifically the introduction of digital assets into the mainstream Jamaican financial market.

“We are excited to have successfully implemented the first real end-to-end digital asset trading ecosystem with the JSE within their regulated environment.” said Jai Waterman, Blockstation’s Co-Founder and Chief Enterprise Architect. “We are looking forward to onboarding, through the pilot exercise, the next wave of brokers and international investors who can enjoy the benefits of safe digital currency access through trusted financial institutions.”

The partnership of large stock exchanges with the crypto world is becoming more commonplace of late.

One hurdle that is yet to be conquered, however, is getting government approval for a Cryptocurrency ETF in the United States which has seen a number of setbacks over the years, though the world’s first crypto ETF has been launched in Switzerland.