Scotland may get its own stock exchange using the latest, if unproven, technology to underpin the system.
Scotex is seeking to raise as much as £15 million to start a regulated equity market next year, according to a statement. Executed trades will be processed by the type of distributed-ledger technology that drives bitcoin.
The majority of Scots voted to stay in the European Union, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has since signalled that she'll call a vote on independence should she disagree with ensuing Brexit negotiations. Scotex would be the country's first independent stock exchange since 1973.
Industries from finance to health care to utilities are experimenting with distributed-ledger technology. On Wall Street, blockchain tech is being hailed as a way to reduce payment times from days or weeks to real time, freeing up billions of dollars in capital that's now tied up until accounts are verified.
Scotex says trades on its exchange will clear nearly instantly and won't require a clearinghouse, which collects collateral and monitors risks between traders. The company says investors and brokers will get their money within 15 minutes after a trade is executed.
Scotex is raising money to meet the capital requirements, and it also needs cash to cover the costs of authorising its distributed ledger as a designated payment system, according to the statement.