Blockchain ‘track-and-trace’ tech could tackle data compliance, audit exposure, experts say

​Distributed-ledger technologies could help solve the age-old issue of tracking, reconciling, and reporting market data usage by financial firms.

Firms have relied on a combination of entitlements systems—most notably Refinitiv’s Real Time Data Access Control System (DACS)—usage tracking and inventory management platforms to reconcile costs against consumption. Additionally, data providers—exchanges, interdealer brokers, data vendors, and index providers—regularly employ audits to ensure