ING and Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking presented a blockchain test prototype for oil trading at IP Week in London; the platform they have developed is called Easy Trading Connect and the prototype tested a live oil trade by global commodity trading group, Mercuria; the blockchain test proved significant advantages in speed, cost and risk benefits; overall the test found blockchain helpful in improving trading inefficiencies, specifically the exchange of physical documents globally; it also helped to reduce the bank's transaction time in the trading process to 25 minutes from three hours. Source
Former CIO and Group Managing Director at UBS, Oliver Bussmann, provides his insight on financial services technology and why blockchain matters in a CXOTALK interview; Oliver Bussmann was involved in the early discovery of blockchain and says one of its greatest advantages is transaction speed specifically in securities settlement where it can reduce settlement times from two to three days to seconds; Bussmann also says blockchain will be influential for insurance, trade finance, payments and the internet of things; overall he thinks regulation, consumer preferences and new technology are important factors changing the landscape and outlook for the financial services industry in the near term. Source
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has reported successful use of blockchain in inter-bank payments; the MAS blockchain inter-bank payments project began in November 2016 and was tested in partnership with R3 and a consortium of financial institutions; Deloitte will provide a report on all aspects of the project and its successes; MAS has reported a continuation of blockchain testing, next in fixed income securities trading and settlement at the Singapore Exchange and also in cross border payments using central bank digital currency; the country's active role in blockchain technology testing is also likely to influence the UNCITRAL Working Group IV which meets in April and is leading initiatives around a legal framework for cross border transactions which is likely to be based on blockchain technology. Source
Blockchain technology is being applied across a range of industries and the utilities sector is testing its use in a number of different ways; in utilities the use of a centralized ledger has many possibilities; industry professionals are testing the tracking of energy distribution and researching new ways of tracking solar and renewable energy; peer-to-peer energy tracking is also a new concept being tested with blockchain; trading flexibility is another area of research that could help improve industry efficiency; as these solutions evolve, industry standards are being developed to ensure consistent use and compliance and it seems that the large incumbent providers have the greatest advantage in developing new technology solutions. Source
The use cases of blockchain technology has increased significantly in 2017; Business Insider looks at how the technology behind bitcoin is being used in international payments, capital markets, trade finance, regulation, money laundering, insurance and peer to peer transaction; they also look at other industries like healthcare, real estate, media, energy and more. Source.
The Bundesbank along with Deutsche Boerse started a trial project with blockchain to transfer and settle securities and cash in...
The smart contracts will help facilitate faster commerce agreements and transactions; Arizona is the first state to pass legislation on blockchain smart contracts; it encompasses various uses for blockchain smart contracts including data, electronic signatures and electronic records transmitted and tracked through blockchain operations, making the use of blockchain transactions comparable to previous methods of communication and documentation. Source
Business Insider takes a look at a growing trend in fintech as companies look to offer blockchain technology as a service; companies offering this already include Amazon AWS, IBM, Microsoft Azure and R3 Corda; this trend is seen as something that will only increase in the coming years as more adoption of this technology occurs in financial services and beyond. Source.
Despite the declines seen in the sector in 2018, many analysts see 2019 as the year blockchain innovation will begin...
Blockchain has the capability to help improve the insurance industry in a number of ways specifically lowering costs and helping to process claims; P2P insurance platforms are already taking advantage of blockchain's capabilities; Dynamis is one leading example, recently receiving a $2.6 million investment for their P2P insurance platform built on blockchain; according to TechCrunch other areas of the insurance market likely to utilize blockchain include parametric insurance and microinsurance. Source