US broker Wedbush joins Paxos's blockchain settlement network for stocks

Wedbush Securities, the U.S. broker and wealth manager with over $20 billion in assets under management, has joined Paxos's blockchain settlement network for equities.

Announcing the news on Thursday, Wedbush said Paxos Settlement Service is a faster and more efficient way to settle stock trades. Using a private and permissioned blockchain network, Paxos lets two parties settle stock trades with each other on the same day.

Traditionally, equity settlement takes T+2 (trade date plus two days) and T+0 or same-day settlement for trades that occur before 11 am ET. Paxos Settlement Service, however, facilitates settlement on any time cycle.

Wedbush Securities is the fifth financial institution to join Paxos's blockchain network, after Credit Suisse, Nomura's Instinet, Societe Generale, and the Bank of America.

Paxos has two more slots left for its network. According to a no-action relief received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019, Paxos can add no more than seven participants to its blockchain settlement network.

Paxos has said that it will apply for full clearing agency registration with the SEC, which will allow it to include more market participants onto the network.