ASX Faces Heat as $164M Project Collapse Triggers Expert Panel Scrutiny – What Went Wrong?

Australian regulators aren't playing nice after a $164 million trainwreck—now they're assembling a crack team to dissect ASX's latest failure.

Behind the curtain: The ASX probe just leveled up from 'routine inquiry' to 'forensic investigation' as watchdogs call in heavyweight experts. No more gentle audits—this is scalpel territory.

Why it stings: That $164 million wasn't monopoly money (though some traders might disagree). When projects fail this spectacularly, someone's always left holding the bag—usually shareholders.

The finance jab: Another day, another nine-figure oopsie—but hey, at least the consulting firms are racking up billable hours.

What was the failed ASX blockchain project?

ASX first began the project to revamp its current trading platform , which is known as the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System or CHESS, by incorporating back in 2015. Under the leadership of then-CEO Elmer Funke Kupper, ASX signed on New York-based startup Digital Asset Holdings to begin working on the blockchain-centered project.

However overtime, people involved in the project started pointing out concerns that digital assets at the time still lacked market support and that ASX had enlisted the help of the New York startup without properly testing the product’s scalability.

It wasn’t until November 2024 when the ASX decided to abandon the project entirely, stating “citing dysfunctional management, concerns about the product’s complexity and scalability, and difficulty finding experts to support it” as the reason behind the axing. The project was estimated to cost around 245 million AUD to $255 million AUD (around $164 million to $171 million).

According to Reuters, the project’s failure had fractured public trust in the stock exchange as more than a dozen brokers and other market participants and people directly involved in the blockchain project criticized it.