An Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) shareholder has moved toward legal action against former ASX directors and officers, seeking court permission to pursue claims tied to the exchange’s failed blockchain-based clearing and settlement replacement project.

According to an ASX announcement on Wednesday, Rosherville Pty Ltd has informed the exchange that it intends to apply for leave to commence a statutory derivative action under sections 236 and 237 of Australia’s Corporations Act. If the Federal Court grants permission, Rosherville would bring the proceedings on ASX’s behalf—while the court would first need to assess whether the proposed case can proceed.

Key takeaways

• Rosherville Pty Ltd is seeking Federal Court leave to bring a statutory derivative action on ASX’s behalf related to the CHESS replacement project.
• ASX said there are no allegations against the exchange itself in the proposed proceeding, but it has not disclosed which former officers or directors are targeted.
• The push comes after ASIC took legal action over allegedly misleading market statements connected to the project and after ASX admitted misleading conduct.
• The dispute could clarify how far shareholders may hold former leaders accountable for oversight of high-profile fintech failures.

How the CHESS blockchain plan unraveled

ASX began investigating a replacement for CHESS—the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System—in 2016. The exchange selected a distributed-ledger approach developed with New York-based Digital Asset, with expectations at the time that ASX could become one of the first major securities markets to run core services on blockchain technology.

Those expectations ultimately did not materialize. The rollout was repeatedly delayed. In November 2022, ASX paused the project after an Accenture review identified significant issues, including problems with the design and with its ability to satisfy ASX requirements, according to reporting at the time from Cointelegraph.

By May 2023, ASX had formally abandoned the blockchain replacement plan and said it would shift to more conventional technology, another step covered in earlier reporting on the matter.

Regulator action over market statements

The Federal Court and ASIC’s involvement is central to the latest shareholder development. ASIC sued ASX in August 2024, alleging that ASX lacked a reasonable basis for statements made in February 2022 that the project was “progressing well” and on track for an April 2023 launch.

ASIC characterized the matter as a collective failure involving ASX’s board and senior executives, according to earlier coverage. The dispute culminated in a significant regulatory outcome for ASX: in June 2026, ASX admitted misleading conduct connected to the CHESS replacement project.

On July 3, the Federal Court ordered ASX to pay a $14.4 million penalty and $2.1 million toward ASIC’s costs, effectively closing the regulator’s case weeks before Rosherville notified ASX that it was preparing to seek leave for derivative proceedings against former officials.

Why a shareholder derivative action matters

ASX’s Wednesday statement underscored that the proposed lawsuit is aimed at individuals rather than the exchange itself. It also made clear that the matter is at an early stage: the exchange did not specify which former officers or directors Rosherville plans to target, and it did not outline the precise alleged breaches or the remedies the claimant wants. Importantly, the court had not yet considered whether the proposed action can proceed.

Even so, the direction of the case highlights a question that investors and corporate governance observers often consider after large-scale technology undertakings fail: when a company admits misconduct or faces penalties tied to project communications, can shareholders translate that outcome into claims against the decision-makers who oversaw the effort?

As framed in ASX’s disclosure, Rosherville’s plan is grounded in Australia’s Corporations Act mechanism for statutory derivative actions, which can allow shareholders to pursue claims on behalf of the company, subject to court approval. That “permission” step is critical—because it means the court will examine whether the case is procedurally and substantively viable before any allegations against individuals are litigated.

What to watch next in the Federal Court

For market participants, the immediate variables are straightforward. The court will determine whether Rosherville’s application meets the statutory threshold for leave and whether the claims can move forward. ASX’s statement indicates that the exchange itself is not accused in the proposed action, but it has declined to offer details about the individuals or the alleged duty breaches. That information, if provided later in the process, could determine how investors interpret the scope of accountability sought by shareholders.

Beyond the legal mechanics, the broader watch point is how the case interacts with the earlier ASIC matter. While ASX’s admission of misleading conduct and the Federal Court’s penalty are part of the background, the shareholder action—if permitted—would focus on the alleged actions or omissions of former officers and directors. Readers should monitor any court filings that clarify the specific duties in question and how the shareholder claim relates to, or differs from, the conduct ASIC pursued.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw weakness around Wednesday’s Wall Street open as markets reacted to key US inflation data.

Key points:

• Bitcoin ignores good news around US inflation figures as it dips below $63,500.
• Fed rate-hike odds cool further as attention now switches to Thursday’s PPI numbers.
• Bitcoin is eroding $63,000 support, the latest market analysis warns.

Bitcoin falls despite US inflation data matching expectations

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping below $63,500, erasing the day’s gains.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stocks were calm after the July print of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) matched expectations, at 0.1% month-on-month and 3.4% year-on-year.

“The index for shelter rose 0.1 percent in July, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the monthly all items increase. The index for food also increased 0.1 percent over the month, as the index for food away from home increased 0.3 percent. In contrast, the energy index declined 1.5 percent in July,” an official release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.

US CPI 12-month % change. Source: BLS

While not repeating the surprise move to the downside seen in June, CPI inflation avoided injecting volatility into risk assets. Among safe havens, gold remained stable after reaching its highest levels in nine weeks on Tuesday.

Fabian Dori, CIO at Sygnum Bank, put the focus on expectations for future Federal Reserve policy changes. Cooling CPI combines with weak labor-market figures to potentially bolster the case for the Fed avoiding interest-rate hikes — an outcome that would benefit crypto and risk-asset liquidity conditions.

“An in-line CPI print after Friday’s –23k jobs report points to gradual cooling without a recession scare or a fresh hawkish re-pricing. September rate odds should stay roughly stable, leaving the macro backdrop for risk assets largely unchanged,” he said in emailed comments.

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool saw 60% odds of the Fed holding rates at the current 3.50-3.75% level at its September meeting — up from 30% a month ago.

Fed target-rate probability comparison for September FOMC meeting (screenshot). Source: CME Group

Thursday provides the week’s second US macro report with potential implications for market volatility in the form of July Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers, which in June followed CPI in coming in below expectations.

“An in-line CPI print does not resolve much after Friday’s payrolls miss. The more interesting detail is that the Bitcoin options market is still charging a material premium for protection” Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs, told Cointelegraph. “On the end-August expiry, downside strikes near $60,000 have been costing more than equivalent upside strikes near $70,000.”

“Tomorrow’s PPI is the next check on whether that premium starts to ease,” he added.

Related: Crypto companies urge AI firms to give Bitcoin developers early access

BTC price $63,000 support “progressively weakening”

Discussing BTC price strength, trader and analyst Rekt Capital had more words of caution for Bitcoin bulls. In a post on X, he warned that each bounce from $63,000 was more and more lacking in trajectory. 

Related: Bitcoin miners earn under 0.7% of revenue from fees in new 10-year low

“The progressively weakening support at ~$63k (orange) is clear. 6.27% –> 5.83% –> 3.18% –> and now 1.15% thus far,” he commented alongside an explanatory chart, adding:

“At some point the bounces will become so weak that the floor will simply break.”

BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital on X.com

Rekt Capital previously warned that Bitcoin bear-market history was repeating as its 50-month exponential moving average (EMA), currently at $65,827, had become new resistance.

In an update on Wednesday, Bitfinex Alpha, the research arm of crypto exchange Bitfinex, reiterated the strength of the overhead resistance zone.

“Equities spent the past two weeks setting all-time highs (ATH) while bitcoin met resistance at the same $65,000-65,500 region level six times. Between 5 and 10 August, the market printed six consecutive daily highs above $65,000 but bitcoin has not recorded a single daily close above that level since 26 July,” it noted.

Magazine: Inside the fake crypto startup that fooled North Korean IT workers

What’s with the hold up?

What is New York’s pied-à-terre tax?

The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab is running a trade-finance experiment designed to test whether stablecoins and a potential digital British pound could work together inside the same cross-border payment flow.

In a project announced on Wednesday, NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs said the trial links an exporter’s advance delivered via a stablecoin rail with a UK importer’s settlement using simulated digital pounds. The focus is on the practical mechanics of payments timing—particularly the point at which trade finance is released and how long settlement takes.

Key takeaways

• The Digital Pound Lab trial pairs a stablecoin payment to an exporter with simulated digital pound settlement by a UK importer in a single cross-border workflow.
• NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs are combining payments testing with a separate effort to generate reusable credit profiles for small businesses.
• The project is explicitly using simulated systems: the Bank of England has not committed to issuing a digital pound and the lab uses no real customers or money.
• The work targets a long-standing trade finance problem where exporters may wait days after shipment to receive payment, tying up working capital.
• The broader initiative aligns with ongoing UK regulatory development for stablecoins and tokenized settlement models.

Trade finance, simulated digital pounds, and stablecoin rails

The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab experiment is centered on trade finance—an area where cash flow can be constrained by settlement delays between shipping goods and receiving payment. According to the announcement from NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs, the test scenario involves an exporter receiving an advance through a stablecoin-based payment flow while a UK importer completes settlement using simulated digital pounds.

The companies did not describe the trial as a live market product; instead, it is positioned as an experiment within the lab’s research environment. The Bank of England has also emphasized that lab experiments designed by participants should not be treated as signals about future policy or as endorsements of any specific firm or technology.

For exporters—especially smaller businesses—payment timing can determine how much working capital is locked up. When funds arrive days after shipment, firms can face higher financing costs or reduced ability to take on new orders. By testing whether different digital payment components can operate in the same cross-border route, the lab project aims to assess whether tokenized settlement could reduce friction that slows trade.

Reusable credit profiles for small businesses

Beyond payments plumbing, the initiative includes a separate workstream aimed at helping small businesses access credit more efficiently. The plan, as described by the participating companies, is to create reusable credit profiles by combining transaction data, open-finance information and commercial risk data from Dun & Bradstreet.

Polygon Labs is providing the smart contract infrastructure for this part of the project. The practical idea is straightforward: instead of rebuilding risk assessments from scratch for each transaction, the system would attempt to turn available data into a standardized credit profile that could be reused in future trade finance arrangements.

If that approach works as intended, it could reduce the operational cost and time involved in underwriting and credit checks—an issue that often weighs more heavily on smaller firms than on larger counterparties with more established financing relationships.

Why this matters amid UK stablecoin and tokenization rulemaking

The trade-focused lab experiment lands as UK authorities continue building the regulatory structure for stablecoins and preparing the financial system for tokenized assets. In June, the Bank of England published draft rules for sterling-denominated stablecoins it considers systemic to the UK’s financial stability.

That proposal, according to the Bank of England, would allow systemic stablecoin issuers to hold up to 70% of their reserves in interest-bearing government debt. It also introduces a temporary issuance cap of 40 billion pounds (about $52.8 billion) per systemic stablecoin, replacing earlier suggestions that would have limited holdings at the level of individual participants and businesses. The Bank of England has said it aims to finalize those rules by the end of 2026, ahead of a planned 2027 rollout.

Under the framework, stablecoins deemed systemic—because their use could pose risks significant enough to affect financial stability—would fall under the Bank of England’s regime. Non-systemic stablecoins would remain under the Financial Conduct Authority’s oversight.

Meanwhile, tokenization is also being tested through updates to legacy settlement infrastructure. In May, the Bank of England proposed moving its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and CHAPS systems toward near-24/7 operation, including weekends and extended daily hours, partly to support cross-border payments and new settlement models as tokenization develops.

Additionally, the Bank of England approved HSBC’s Orion platform to operate in the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox. That sandbox is expected to support digital bond issuance, including the country’s planned Digital Gilt Instrument—another sign that regulators are exploring how tokenized assets might integrate with existing market infrastructure.

What to watch next in the Digital Pound Lab

Because the Digital Pound Lab trial uses no real money or customers and the central bank has not committed to issuing a digital pound, the near-term value for market participants is primarily methodological: seeing whether a stablecoin rail and a simulated digital pound can coordinate inside a realistic cross-border trade workflow. The next step is whether the lab’s findings inform practical designs for interoperability, settlement timing, and how credit and compliance data could be translated into reusable structures for small businesses.

Why the new Medicaid rule is contested