Lots of people saying that blockchain is past its sell-by date, R3 are bust and distributed ledgers are dead. I think it’s related to the journalists who, having delighted in bigging up blockchain big time for the past two years are now relishing … The post Blockchain is dead, long live the Blockchain appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog. Blockchain Fintech Future Grid Innovation Technology ValueWeb MORE

In the midst of today’s retail revolution, blockchain technology is being pushed up to the surface. E-Commerce’s increasing popularity over the last decade is likely the driver of blockchain technology implementation. As such, it should come as no surprise that banks from around the world are dipping their toes into blockchain technology in various projects. One of the seemingly largest barriers for banks with blockchain technology are federal-level regulations. MORE

IBM is getting into the blockchain game, announcing Friday (Dec. 9) it launched a blockchain ecosystem aimed at accelerating the creation of blockchain networks. In a press release , IBM touted blockchain, saying it has the potential to transform the way all sorts of industries conduct business transactions. The future growth and adoption of blockchain is reliant upon building a strong ecosystem. Blockchain IBM Payment Methods What's Hot MORE

Blockchain technology has allowed businesses to eliminate unnecessary, not to mention costly, intermediaries and significantly reduce international cross-border payment processing time from weeks to a day. MORE

News came recently, when it comes to patents tied to the blockchain landscape, that Thomson Reuters found China, and Alibaba , to have had an outsized showing. Last year, 56 percent of all blockchain patents issued trace their genesis from China. Alibaba Bets On The Blockchain. The company is also branching out into healthcare, working with an eastern Chinese city to use blockchain to safeguard and transport healthcare data. Yet, blockchain remains an area of interest. MORE

China’s largest retailer, JD.com , has announced a new blockchain technology platform that will allow enterprise customers to build, host and use their own blockchain applications. The platform is also designed with “one-click deployment” so it can be used by companies that don’t have the ability to develop their own blockchain solutions. “JD B2B Payments B2B Blockchain Blockchain Apps CPIC eInvoice ISV JD Blockchain Open Platform JD.com News Retail What's Hot In B2B MORE

In March of 2016, I testified on the revolutionary nature of blockchains before the U.S. Since that time, blockchains have continued garnering interest across multiple industries from banking to health care, and have been explored for quite a few additional use cases. Permissioned blockchains can provide value to customers through their ability to establish consensus between parties, provenance of assets, immutability of ledgers, and finality of transactions. MORE

I recently wrote an article for Bloomberg’s Business Week, and thought it worth sharing with y’all here: What’s next for blockchain? Everyone got very excited a few years ago about blockchain technologies, the ledger system that was spawned by the arrival of bitcoin in 2009. It allows the recording of … The post What’s next for blockchain? Blockchain Digital Bank Fintech Grid Innovation ValueWeb MORE

Banks seem smitten by blockchain. PwC writes in its “Global Blockchain Survey 2018” that responses from 600 executives across 15 territories are embracing distributed ledger technology (DLT) with enthusiasm. Everyone is talking about blockchain and no one wants to be left behind.”. The firm noted that Gartner sees blockchain will help generate annual business values of $3 trillion within 12 years – and beyond that, as much as 20 percent of global economic infrastructure. MORE

Samsung is reportedly looking into blockchain technology to manage its supply chain, reports in Bloomberg said on Monday (April 16). The technology conglomerate, which is the world’s largest smartphone and semiconductor maker, is exploring a blockchain-based ledger system to manage its international supply chain. Samsung SDS VP and Blockchain Chief Song Kwang-woo said that supply chain involves the transport of billions of dollars worth of goods every year. MORE

According to a report from Santander, blockchain technology is poised to save banks $20 billion dollars a year in infrastructure costs by 2022. Instead, he and his team identified a key client challenge for which blockchain could provide a valuable solution. MORE

Blockchain technology is making ever-more inroads into various verticals to convey data and payments, according to a recent report from audit, assurance, consulting and tax services provider PwC, and appears to be moving away from cryptocurrencies in the process. Everyone is talking about blockchain, and no one wants to be left behind.”. Among the verticals in which blockchain is finding purchase is financial services. MORE

For China , cryptos are anathema, while the blockchain is to be embraced, or so it seems in light of recent policy and project announcements. There seems to be a bifurcation between cryptos and blockchain itself, where Beijing wants to bring some use cases into mainstream adoption, and where the road moves away from cryptos. Government officials have even been given handbooks on how blockchain works and can be deployed. MORE

News came last week that, when it comes to patents tied to the blockchain landscape, Thomson Reuters has found that China, and Alibaba , have had an outsized showing, and seem to be accelerating their patent filing activity. More than half, or 56 percent of all blockchain patents issued last year trace their genesis from China. Blockchain remains an area of strong interest. See more of what is happening with blockchain related activity here. MORE

Walmart has been awarded three patents for blockchain-backed technology, according to a report Monday (June 18) in Cryptovest. One of the patents covers a system that would let households manage their electricity bills through cryptocurrency, and would be operated with a public blockchain. Due to privacy issues, only medical data that is emergency-specific should be put on blockchain.”. The system uses cryptographic keys stored on a blockchain.”. MORE

The world of blockchain technology has certainly seen some major changes over the course of the past decade. While traditionally, blockchain has been instrumental in the financial arena, 2016 and early 2017 saw other industries dipping their toes into the technology’s shallow end. Basically, blockchain technology can be applied to anything that involves a digital contract or money exchanging hands. Therefore, blockchains and MDLs regulate themselves. MORE

To put it another way, might the additions of links to the blockchain be slowed a bit? Forrester Research noted that some projects may be winding down, and some pilot tests of the technology may be walked back a bit, illuminating at least some isolated cases of tempered enthusiasm or expectations of blockchain potential. As reported in Bloomberg , and as calculated by Forrester, the chance of failure is considerable, as 90 percent of the time blockchain “experiments” never go live. MORE

In a recent study of 200 government leaders from 16 countries, IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBV) looked specifically at blockchain technology as a possible solution for securely sharing sensitive data. The research showed that by 2018, nine out of 10 organizations will invest in the use of blockchain technology for financial transaction, asset and contract management and regulatory compliance. One such entity that’s placing its bets on blockchain technology is China. MORE

I haven’t written about blockchain for a while. I’m not bored of the promise of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. Just bored of how much hype there has been and of so many companies claiming to have the latest blockchain breakthrough. MORE

Although it’s still in its infancy stage of being used outside of the financial arena, blockchain technology is slowly showing signs of impacting other industries. On the tip of everyone’s tongue in the digital advertising arena is blockchain technology. ConsenSys’ Founder, Joseph Lubin, commented in the joint press release about how blockchain technology adds value to digital advertising: “There is tremendous value and disruption potential of this technology beyond FinTech. MORE

Blockchain gets scrutiny on all sides, and in one looming examination, the United States Senate will examine the impact blockchain has on the energy ecosystem — specifically, how it affects the use of electricity. 21), on the “Energy Efficiency of Blockchain and Similar Technologies.” Beyond that, the hearing will also look into the ways blockchain can help improve the online security of computer systems that are linked to the energy system itself. MORE

Use cases are growing with blockchain, and while the headlines may focus on large-scale government initiatives and where distributed ledger technology (DLT) might be headed, the fact remains that smaller projects are gaining traction. The more that light is shed on these use cases, the more blockchain can move beyond the traditional confines of simply working in conjunction with cryptocurrencies. Ballots Over Blockchain. Blockchain … And Big Bucks. MORE

In my final deep dive into blockchain use cases, I come to digital identity. First, we need to understand what we mean by identity before we can talk about how blockchains could help. Blockchain GridNow this is a thorny area for three reasons. MORE

I’ve blogged for over a week about blockchain based developments in Clearing & Settlement and Trade Finance, and will continue for another week talking about the developments in Payments and Digital Identity. Blockchain Payments Uncategorized MORE

… The post Decentraland: making blockchain-based virtual reality, a reality? Blockchain Future GridI just caught a clip from the BBC about Decentraland, a virtual world where you can buy plots of land and next year become part of a virtual world. MORE

It’s not entirely clear yet how — or if — blockchain will transform the financial services market, but that hasn’t stopped industry players from scrambling to get a leg up on the technology and ahead of the competition. billion dollars every year on blockchain as banks and other companies emerge from proof-of-concept stage into market launches and commercial products. B2B Payments American Express B2B Blockchain Blockchain tracker dlt FXIP News Ripple SWIFT MORE

Blockchain has issued many promises in the financial services space, vowing improved efficiency, heightened transparency and unmatched security. As FIS conducts internal proofs of concepts and blockchain pilots, Pigg said, the true benefits of blockchain technology will only be discovered gradually. Pigg isn’t the only one to acknowledge the importance of waiting in the blockchain world. MORE

American Express has reportedly filed a patent related to faster payments and blockchain technology, reports in CoinDesk said. Patent and Trademark Office released the patent application filed by American Express Travel Related Services Company, the payment technology firm’s travel unit, which outlines the use of blockchain technology to accelerate payments between two parties. American Express has been exploring blockchain technology for some time. MORE

Royal Dutch Shell is boosting its position in the world of blockchain through an investment in distributed ledger startup Applied Blockchain. startup, which develops blockchain apps with a focus on smart contracts. Shell also chose Applied Blockchain as the winner of its startup development competition. Investing in Applied Blockchain is part of our commitment to use digitalization to create value in our core business and develop new business models.”. MORE

Persisting low interest rates are encouraging banks to adopt blockchain, which they see as a way to reduce costs and offset losses. According to Financial Times , banks initially distrusted bitcoin when it first emerged in 2009 as a currency that could elude the control of governments and central banks, but blockchain was thought to have its advantages. Blockchain was considered safe and unhackable because it is shared among a large number of users. MORE

Blockchain, blockchain everywhere – and maybe this is where the road gets racy. And in the latest edition of the blockchain tracker, the auto industry gets some mileage. One firm has estimated that the automotive blockchain space will be worth as much as $1.6 The blockchain has also gotten some buzz in the financial services realm. What would blockchain be without a startup or two, maybe with a famous name in the mix? MORE

Blockchain technology has the potential to impact nearly every industry involving money. It’s safe to say the insurance industry world is slowly moving out of its stodginess and into innovation with this news — and the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announcement of its automated blockchain prototype for the London Market Target Operating Model (TOM) Innovation Exchange. PYMNTS: How is blockchain technology impacting the FinTech industry overall? MORE

To verify payment cards at the point of sale (POS), Mastercard is looking into blockchain technology. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the company said it has devised a process to send and retrieve payment credentials through a “publicly accessible blockchain,” CoinDesk reported. Through a two-way method, the system encodes an encrypted payment card image that is stored on the blockchain with a private and public key. MORE

Blockchain is now an official word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Of course, the FinTech industry doesn’t have to look it up, but the dictionary now defines blockchain as a technology that enables the keeping of records of financial transactions in a digital database as part of a publicly accessible network. The addition of blockchain to the dictionary is symbolic of the technology’s continuing proliferation. MORE

Let's take a look at the what blockchain is, and how it can help transform the mobile payments industry MORE

Conservative MP Eddie Hughes has just written a 36-page white paper extolling the benefits of blockchain for Britain, which was published yesterday Unlocking Blockchain: Embracing new technologies to drive efficiency and empower the citizen, by FREER. FREER is a major new initiative from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA, a … The post MPs battle over blockchain appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog. Blockchain Grid Innovation MORE

Blockchain technology keeps a high level of detail in its records of all financial transactions made. One of the arguably best parts about public blockchain technology is that it’s usually not controlled by one particular entity. In blockchain technology, there are three different ways it can be used, which include hybrid, private and public. PYMNTS: Please share your own definition of hybrid, private and public blockchain technologies. MORE

After setting up a group within Facebook to look into blockchain technology, Facebook may be bolstering its efforts in the field: Evan Cheng has taken on the position of director of engineering, blockchain, at the company, according to reports and his LinkedIn profile. But Cheng has tweeted about blockchain topics. In addition, reports say that he serves as an advisor to startups and projects in the blockchain space such as ChainLink and Zilliqa. MORE

Remember when blockchain was the new technology buzzword on the … block? Now blockchain is on everyone’s lips, and has been for a while. The debate over blockchain, however, in terms of utility, rages on. Blockchain ebook Featured News News MORE

Blockchain beyond bitcoin. One estimate that debuted this week via Business Intelligence and Strategy Research (aka BIS Research) states that the global automotive blockchain market will reach $1.6 Patent and Trademark Office that would leverage blockchain to secure user authentication efforts and boost security initiatives. Within the financial services realm, use cases for blockchain also showed how DLT might be used in actual offerings. MORE

Oracle’s new blockchain service for the enterprise is now live, reports in Fortune said Monday (July 16). The enterprise technology conglomerate has released its solution for businesses that provides them with software and infrastructure to set up their own blockchain networks. “Anywhere there’s data transfer and information flow, blockchain has a potential application,” said Oracle Cloud Unit Executive Vice President Amit Zavery. MORE

The blockchain hype is real — just ask Long Blockchain — but governments are taking a modest, more realistic approach to the technology. In this week’s Blockchain Tracker , PYMNTS examines the latest government initiatives in the U.S. around blockchain, including the latest from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Congress. As a whole, officials offer support — albeit vague — for blockchain and its potential. Catch the latest blockchain headlines below. MORE

Two years ago, he wrote a great insight into banking business models and, last week, he did it … The post Firms need business model change, not blockchain appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog. Blockchain GridEvery now and then, someone writes something better than me and, if they’re very nice, they let me republish their content on this blog. Ben Robinson of Temenos is one of those guys. MORE