Assets under Tokenization: Can Blockchain Technology Improve Post-Trade Processing?

Recent years have seen rapid growth in exceptional IS scholarship addressing the efficacy and utility of blockchain technology in trade-processing and financial services. Numerous prominent IS scholars encourage applied research into the ostensible synergies between the nascent technology and its various use cases. Yet the vast majority of the published literature approaches the issue from a purely contemplative or theoretical perspective. Addressing this gap in the IS literature, we apply the design science research methodology in the construction a software artefact for the abstract representation of physical assets in the form of blockchain tokens, a process colloquially referred to as tokenization. The artefact is the product of a cross-organizational development process involving a host organization and several external participants. We present the final iteration of the artefact, evaluating our results against the requirements collected through the design search process. This informs a rigorous evaluation of the conceptual limitations of blockchain-based software artefacts. We conclude that, provided the aforementioned requirements are adequately observed within the design search process, blockchain technology can indeed improve post-trade processing