A new industry initiative led by Chainlink and eight major financial market infrastructures and institutions aims to revolutionise corporate actions processing by leveraging advancements in AI, oracles, and blockchain technology. This ambitious multi-phase project seeks to solve one of the most pressing issues in financial markets— the lack of real-time, standardised data, particularly in fragmented markets such as Europe.
Corporate actions, such as mergers, dividends, and stock splits, are typically delivered in unstructured formats like PDFs and press releases. These undergo a long, complex process, moving through various intermediaries such as custodians, brokers, and exchanges before finally reaching investors. However, this process often results in fragmented data, multiple versions, and significant delays, leading to increased operational costs and a higher risk of errors.
The initiative aims to address these challenges by using three large language models (LLMs) combined with Chainlink’s decentralised oracle networks to autonomously extract, standardise, and publish unstructured data onchain in near real-time. By doing so, the initiative enhances data availability and distribution while ensuring interoperability between traditional financial systems and blockchain environments.
In a landmark collaboration, the project brings together industry leaders such as Euroclear, Swift, UBS, Franklin Templeton, Wellington Management, CACEIS, Vontobel, and Sygnum Bank. Additionally, blockchain ecosystem partners including Hyperledger Besu, Avalanche, and ZKsync are working alongside Chainlink to build a secure, blockchain-agnostic infrastructure for handling corporate actions data.
Key Developments and Achievements
The first phase of the initiative focused on automating the conversion of unstructured corporate action data into structured formats aligned with industry standards such as the Securities Market Practice Group (SMPG) and the ISO 20022 framework. The initiative demonstrated the ability to autonomously source and verify previously unreachable offchain data, significantly improving both the speed and accuracy of corporate action information.
Moreover, by using decentralised oracles, the initiative ensures that this critical data is instantly distributed on shared infrastructures, creating a unified golden record accessible to all stakeholders, from asset managers to custodians and Central Securities Depositories (CSDs). This approach not only reduces uncertainty but also increases transparency across the board.
By focusing on interoperability between public and private blockchain networks and ensuring compatibility with existing financial systems, the initiative provides a seamless integration between traditional financial infrastructures and emerging technologies.
A New Era for Corporate Actions
The initiative’s achievements mark a significant step forward in addressing the complexities of corporate actions. Through AI, oracles, and blockchain, this collaborative effort is creating a more efficient, transparent, and standardised approach to managing financial data. This transformation not only reduces operational risk and cost but also strengthens the integrity of financial markets.
As the initiative progresses into its next phases, it promises to bring even greater innovations, setting the stage for a new era in asset servicing.
The full report can be downloaded here.
