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ASX shareholder seeks permission to sue over failed CHESS blockchain plan
The proposed case would follow ASX’s admission that it misled the market about the project’s progress before it was later paused and abandoned.
An Australian Securities Exchange shareholder is seeking Federal Court permission to sue certain former ASX officers and directors tied to the exchange’s failed blockchain-based clearing and settlement overhaul, after ASX acknowledged it misled the market, according to Cointelegraph.
The plan involves Rosherville Pty Ltd asking the court for leave to start a statutory derivative action under Australia’s Corporations Act sections 236 and 237, which would be brought on ASX’s behalf if approved. ASX said there are no allegations against the exchange itself, and it did not name the officials targeted, detail the alleged breaches, or disclose what remedies the shareholder would seek.
ASX began exploring a CHESS replacement in 2016 and selected a distributed-ledger system developed with New York-based Digital Asset. Cointelegraph reports the launch was repeatedly delayed, and in November 2022 ASX paused the project after an Accenture review found significant design and capability problems.
Later, in May 2023, ASX formally abandoned the blockchain approach in favor of more conventional technology. Cointelegraph also notes that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission sued ASX in August 2024, alleging it lacked a reasonable basis for telling the market in February 2022 that the project was “progressing well” and on track for an April 2023 launch.