Blockchain to “revolutionize” the world, says Nasdaq’s head of blockchain management

On 14th September, Jill Malandrino, global markets reporter at Nasdaq interviewed Johan Toll, the head of blockchain product management at Nasdaq. The interview covered the various projects implemented by Nasdaq in the blockchain industry and other Fintech businesses.

Johan was asked about the ongoing blockchain projects initiated by the Nasdaq team. According to him, one of the interesting projects included tokenizing the asset issues and settlements of mutual funds. The firm was also interested in the trading of open-ended funds in the Nordic countries. They have been working with major banks in the Nordic region to try replacing the old and antiquated infrastructure into a distributed environment using the blockchain technology.

Furthermore, they were not only focusing on handling the asset related issues but also focusing on securing the payments.

According to Johan, collaboration was an important step in the development of the blockchain industry. Blockchain has the ability to transform the whole market and technology was not the only key factor for such a transformation to occur. Some of the other important aspects include working closely with the clients, regulators, central banks and anyone who could help in transforming the market.

Johan also spoke about the most interesting project being developed by the Nasdaq business and what excited him the most about it. He said:

“Its really about rewriting tomorrow for us and see how collaborations can potentially change markets”

Johan was also asked about the other industries where Nasdaq could apply blockchain technology. He stated that blockchain could be used in an industry where there is a buying demand and a supplying demand. Individuals could meet up with one another and then securely settle transactions in a shared distributed environment. This will help reduce the needs for reconciliation and errors.

Johan concluded by conveying his opinion about how blockchain technology will revolutionize the financial industry. He stated:

” I think it will stay for sure, blockchain is about changing the relationship between the issuers and the investors. Brinig them closer together will speed up and secure the markets”