A shareholder seeks court permission to sue former ASX directors for alleged breaches over the failed blockchain CHESS overhaul. ASX already paid a $14.4M penalty for misleading the market.
Alpha Score of 51 reflects moderate overall profile with weak momentum, weak value, moderate quality, moderate sentiment.
An Australian Securities Exchange shareholder wants the Federal Court’s permission to sue former ASX officers and directors for alleged breaches of duty linked to the exchange’s abandoned blockchain-based clearing overhaul.
Rosherville Pty Ltd notified ASX on Wednesday that it intends to apply for leave to start a statutory derivative action under sections 236 and 237 of the Corporations Act. If approved, Rosherville would pursue the case on ASX’s behalf. The exchange said no allegations are made against ASX itself, and it did not name the former officials targeted or detail the alleged breaches.
The proposed lawsuit could test whether shareholders can hold directors personally accountable for one of Australia’s costliest financial-technology failures.
ASX began exploring a replacement for its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System in 2016. It picked a distributed-ledger system developed with New York-based Digital Asset. By late 2017 the exchange was expected to become the first securities exchange to run core services on blockchain. The launch date slipped repeatedly.
In November 2022, ASX paused the project after an Accenture (ACN) review found “significant problems” with its design and ability to meet the exchange’s requirements. Accenture, whose review flagged those issues, currently holds an Alpha Score of 52, indicating mixed sentiment. ASX formally abandoned blockchain for the replacement in May 2023 and said it would consider conventional technology.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission sued ASX in August 2024, alleging the exchange lacked a reasonable basis for telling the market in February 2022 that the project was “progressing well” and on track for an April 2023 launch. ASIC called the episode a collective failure by ASX’s board and senior executives.
In June 2026, ASX admitted to misleading conduct over the blockchain replacement. On July 3, the Federal Court ordered the company to pay a $14.4 million penalty and $2.1 million toward ASIC’s costs. That closed the regulator’s case weeks before Rosherville notified the exchange of its proposed action against former officials.
The court has not yet considered whether the derivative action can proceed.
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