The Tribune

A BISX-listed company yesterday predicted it will achieve a “pre-eminent position” after acquiring the exclusive Bahamian licence for a blockchain and digital currency trading platform.

Benchmark (Bahamas) said it had obtained the deal for a peer-to-peer financial trading and processing exchange, which supports crypto currency deals, from UK-based Charteris, Mackie, Baillie & Cummins Limited (CMBC).

The financial services provider, headed by Julian Brown, its chief executive and president, said it now plans to offer a transaction processing service that facilitates a broad, secure global payment and financial trading exchange.

It added that this will allow users to easily move from fiat to digital currencies, and from digital currencies to real commodities, marketable securities or foreign exchange transactions.

Benchmark said the platform is mobile responsive, and can expand and reconcile cryptocurrency transactions that now average in excess of $3bn per day. Exchange members and users can use multiple currencies, multiple international exchanges and a wide array of applications.

The exchange will be operated by Benchmark’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Benchmark Advisors (Bahamas) Ltd. The company intends to offer membership to individual and corporate users who can trade stocks, bonds, commodities, fiat and cryptocurrencies.

Mr Brown said: “We see the acquisition of this exclusive Bahamian licence to CMBC’s peer-to-peer trading exchange as an important step in the expansion of The Bahamas financial services sector offering, which comes at a time when smart contracts, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning significantly - and rapidly - are changing the global financial services sector.

“CMBC’s experience and credentials are unsurpassed in decentralised technology and digital currency. This peer-to-peer financial trading and processing exchange utilising blockchain technology will launch Benchmark to a pre-eminent position in the emerging global digital financial sector.”

Lawrence Cummins, Charteris, Mackie, Baillie & Cummins’ chairman and chief executive, said: “CMBC is pleased that Benchmark has chosen to licence the peer-to-peer trading exchange built on our propriety trading platform design, and we look forward to working closely with Benchmark to develop solutions for other industries using smart contracts and decentralised technologies to establish secure products that would greatly enhance the financial services products and economic growth of the Bahamas.”