Partior and OpenAssets complete atomic settlement proof of concept
The companies say their test linked digital assets and stablecoins with tokenised commercial-bank deposits, while stopping short of a live rollout.
By Rafael Ortiz · Fintech Correspondent
· 3 min read
Partior and OpenAssets atomic settlement moved from proposal to a completed proof of concept on July 30, with the companies saying they tested simultaneous delivery-versus-payment involving digital assets, regulated stablecoins and commercial tokenised deposits. The test used tokenised commercial-bank money on Partior’s network as the primary settlement asset between institutions, according to the companies.
The announcement concerns a proof of concept rather than a disclosed live service. Partior and OpenAssets described the result as a route towards scalable, around-the-clock settlement, but the material released does not set out a production launch, transaction volumes, participating customers, named stablecoins or independent testing.
What did the Partior and OpenAssets proof of concept demonstrate?
The partners said OpenAssets’ digital-asset infrastructure was connected to Partior’s network for commercial tokenised deposits. In the configuration described, digital assets and stablecoin obligations could be coordinated with tokenised deposit money as the cash settlement asset.
Delivery-versus-payment, or DvP, links asset delivery and payment in a settlement process. Partior and OpenAssets said their proof of concept enabled a simultaneous exchange across the relevant digital assets, stablecoins and tokenised deposits, an arrangement they said was designed to reduce principal and counterparty settlement risk.
The companies listed four capabilities tested in the exercise:
- simultaneous DvP exchange among the three forms of value;
- use of tokenised commercial-bank money on Partior as the inter-institution settlement asset;
- automated coordination from stablecoin and asset movement through ledger reconciliation and final credit delivery; and
- the option to settle or redeem stablecoin obligations in real time transaction by transaction, or in bulk.
Humphrey Valenbreder, Partior’s chief executive, said the work demonstrated a path for interoperability between stablecoins and tokenised deposits across banks and markets. Gabor Gurbacs, OpenAssets’ chief executive, said the integration showed how institutions could settle tokenised assets against cash while remaining on infrastructure they already use.
Why does the settlement asset matter?
Tokenised deposits are digital representations of commercial-bank money. In this test, they were not interchangeable with the stablecoins in the transaction flow: the companies said the deposits supplied the primary settlement asset, while the design also accommodated stablecoin obligations and digital assets.
That distinction limits what can be concluded from the test. The companies demonstrated an integration under proof-of-concept conditions; they did not disclose evidence that the arrangement has been deployed at scale or that it removes settlement risks in every circumstance.
The Bank for International Settlements has said tokenisation could improve efficiency and reduce complexity in clearing and settlement. It also cautioned that credit-risk and liquidity trade-offs remain, and that token-based systems will need to work with established account-based systems, at least during an interim period.
This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.
