Blockchain


Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 21 November 2017

From major crimes to KYC times. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features Tether, Metal, Deutsche Bank and IBM. Digital currency firm Tether is feeling under the weather as it has reported that “funds were improperly removed from the Tether treasury wallet through malicious action by an external attacker”. The amount is a rather large […]

What a Swell Sibos we had

One of the more entertaining aspects of this year’s Sibos in Toronto was the continuation of the rivalry between the event’s host, Swift, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Ripple.

All aboard the Amex blockchain payments express

American Express has launched blockchain-enabled, business-to-business cross-border payments with Santander using Ripple’s network. The Amex FX International Payments (FXIP) business is working with Ripple to make blockchain payments commercially available, “reducing the time and cost of settlement”. Santander UK is the selected partner to initiate this new transaction channel. Marc Gordon, EVP and CIO at […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 16 November 2017

Coming straight after yesterday’s (15 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features Mastercard in a patent place, ING Bank opening up, and another warning from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Let’s start with yet another patent. Mastercard has jumped on the blockchain payments bandwagon by filing “Method and System for Instantaneous Payment […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 15 November 2017

Following on from yesterday’s (14 November) news, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Trustology, Accenture, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Association of Banks in Singapore, Square and London Block Exchange. Another day, another new firm. Trustology has emerged from stealth and revealed it is building a peer-to-peer network of smart contract compute services. Trusted […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 November 2017

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s (13 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Bitcoin Gold, OTC Exchange Network, Deloitte and Github. Bitcoin Gold (BTG), the newest fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, has officially gone live. It’s not the first to breakaway from Bitcoin, as previously in August, Bitcoin Cash (BCC) launched. […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 13 November 2017

Following Friday’s (10 November) feisty blockchain and Bitcoin action, here’s another round-up. Features CryptoCoinBits, European Commission, R3 and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. With increasing fears about Bitcoin ICOs and bubbles bursting, it was inevitable someone would see a gap in the market. Enter CryptoCoinBits, which has unleashed a Bitcoin trading platform and asks: “So how can […]

It’s time to pull the brake on Bitcoin

With ten years in fintech under my belt, I have seen the creation of the word itself. I have also seen the rise of various hypes, adoption of buzzwords, sky-high funding rounds, epic failures and a surprising knowledge gap in what is the world’s biggest industry.

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 9 November 2017

Whether it’s AI to bridge cryptocurrencies or someone accidentally losing it, something is always going on, whether right or wrong in the world of blockchain and Bitcoin. Our latest round-up features Parity, AiX, R3 and SIA.

Payments round-up: 8 November 2017

Just yesterday (7 November) was a payments round-up, but here’s more action from the lively paytech place. Features Apple, Coinsilium Group, UMT United Mobility Technology, Visa and even the Olympic Winter Games. Apple, which is rarely out of the news, has set up Apple Pay Cash for person-to-person (P2P) payments in Messages. This feature is […]

Why blockchain won’t fix payments

There is a misconception about blockchain in the industry surrounding the belief that it is a solution to making faster and securer payments. There are some issues around the blockchain that explain why, in its present form, it isn’t an ideal replacement.

Implementing derivatives clearing on distributed ledger technology platforms

Clearing houses and central clearing counterparties (CCPs) play a pivotal role in managing collateral and counterparty risk, in increasing standardisation and transparency of financial markets, and in the credit enhancement process for clearing banks. For such systemically critical functions, how appropriate are innovative new technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT)?

Mastercard takes blockchain mainstream with API

Mastercard announced it has tested and validated its blockchain and will be opening access to it via a set of three APIs published on the Mastercard Developers website. The APIs include the blockchain core API, the smart contracts API, and the fast pay network API.

EFL merges with Lenddo

Psychometric credit scoring company Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) has merged with alternative credit score provider Lenddo.

Blockchain and the Lycra principle: only when fit for purpose

Few ideas have captivated the modern payments and financial services industries like blockchain. Since Bitcoin officially launched in 2008, the noise around the potential of distributed ledgers and blockchain in particular has been incessant, particularly in the last two years.

Blockchain: a world of possibilities

Amid the hype around distributed ledger technology and blockchain it can seem they are technologies looking for solutions. In the heavily paper-based business of trade finance, such technology looks promising and progress is being made elsewhere.

Daily News at Sibos 2017 – Day 4

Read our fourth and final Daily News at Sibos edition of the Sibos 2017 conference in Toronto – all the latest news and analysis from Swift’s premier event of the year. Free to read online or pick up a complimentary print copy if you are at Sibos!

Sibos 2017: treasurers look to tech to untangle knots

Untangling the “knots” at global treasuries, especially with regard to bank maintenance issues around know your customer (KYC) and other compliance activities, was the theme of a corporate treasury session yesterday (18 October) at Sibos.

SmartContract unveils PoC

SmartContract, which enables computable smart contracts, has unveiled a new a proof of concept (PoC) for making/using smart contracts with Swift.

Sberbank and Swift sign memorandum of co-operation for product push

Sberbank and Swift have signed a memorandum of co-operation regarding the development and piloting of products created and promoted by Swift. With fintech hugs sweeping Sibos and the planet, the parties agreed to co-ordinate steps to assess the potential application of blockchain in interbank settlement platforms. In particular, Sberbank joined the international group of financial […]

JP Morgan’s Quorum blockchain powers new correspondent banking network

JP Morgan, and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), have launched the Interbank Information Network (IIN) – using blockchain for the payments process. According to JP Morgan, processing global payments is very complex. Multiple layers of communication occur amongst payment participants to verify and process transactions. By using […]

Sibos 2017: web’s future “in the balance”

The cross-border, centralised nature of the world wide web is “absolutely in the balance” right now, warned Sir Tim Berners-Lee, its inventor, yesterday (17 October) at the Sibos conference in Toronto.

LA Ledger group calls for more participants

The Liquidity Alliance group of central securities depositories (CSDs) has called for further participants in their distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based LA Ledger prototype for cross-border mobilisation of security collateral.

IBM and eight banks unleash we.trade platform for blockchain-powered commerce

IBM and eight banks have unveiled we.trade – the new name for their Digital Trade Chain shared platform using distributed ledger technology (DLT) for domestic and cross-border commerce. Since January 2017, a group of seven banks (Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale and UniCredit), together with IBM, have been developing the Digital Trade […]

BNP Paribas and EY explore private blockchain for treasury operations

BNP Paribas ALM Treasury and EY have completed a pilot demonstrating the use of blockchain to improve global internal treasury operations for the bank. The ALM Treasury department, which manages the bank’s internal ops, at the service of all three operating divisions of the group, carried out the pilot, tested internally this summer. According to […]

Sibos 2017: Swift’s Sibos vs Ripple’s Swell

The distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Ripple has attracted attention on the opening day of this year’s Sibos with its cars outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) ferrying people back and forth to its own rival Swell event downtown.

Sibos 2017 opening plenary: data is the new battleground

Welcome to Sibos 2017 in Toronto – bringing together 8,000+ delegates from 150 countries. And this year we have a new (or the vintage new?) theme: data. Not the “big data” though (that everyone was talking about a few Sibos conferences ago), but just data.

Liquidity management: real-time nostro time?

As part of its global payments innovation initiative, Swift and a group of banks have been trialling distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the reconciliation of nostro databases in real-time.

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