Global banking blockchain consortium R3 is close to launching its first pilot commercial product to the market.
New York-based blockchain firm R3 works with more than 80 banks and other financial establishments to develop the technology in financial services. Set up 2015, R3 has become the largest banking-centric blockchain consortium in financial markets.
In May, R3 raised a record $107 billion in a fundraising round, the largest single investment in a blockchain company to date, that included 40 of its members. It’s reported that the latest funding round will help to continue the development of Corda, R3’s blockchain software.
Some of the investors included U.K.’s HSBC, Brazil Banco Bradesco and French investment bank Natixis. The third and final stage are expected to open later this year.
Now, according to a report from the Financial News, a group of 11 banks are getting ready to test an application designed to cut costs and finance trade inefficiencies with Corda.In a statement, the 11 banks are Bangkok Bank, BBVA, BNP Paribas, HSBC, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho, RBS, Scotiabank, SEB and US Bank. For the past year they have been working with R3 to build and test programmes. FN reports that the product pilot is expected to be available in 2018.
This latest development from R3 comes at a time when the consortium has been reported as ‘seeking to build an operating system of finance.’
In June, it was reported that David Rutter, CEO of R3, said that banks are spending tens of billions of dollars each year on writing APIs between trading and order management systems. He added that third party software ‘doesn’t communicate properly.’
According to Rutter:
Corda is a completely open system that is going to empower entrepreneurs to be able to build Corda apps, roll them out, and actually have them be adopted because they will work with the current financial rails, in a way that is cognizant of and compliant with the regulatory regime.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
No comments:
Post a Comment