December 15, 2017
Featured Updates
Blockchain for Digital Reinvention: Three lessons from Blockchain Explorers
Veena Pureswaran | IBV Global Research
Recently, the IBM Institute for Business Value conducted a global survey of nearly 3,000 CxOs from over 20 industries to understand their strategy for leveraging blockchain as an enabler of Digital Reinvention. Through observing and interacting with these blockchain explorers we’ve identified three lessons learned that further their pursuit of blockchain.Market Activity and Trends
UBS to Launch Live Ethereum Compliance Platform
Coin Desk | December 11, 2017 | https://goo.gl/eU1cAz
UBS has announced its Massive Autonomous Distributed Reconciliation platform (Madrec) that is designed to make it easier for banks to reconcile a wide range of data about their counterparties. This live platform launch will include other firms such as Barclays, Credit Suisse, KBC, SIX, and Thomson Reuters to address the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II regulations that go live next year.
The banks involved built Madrec to mutualize much of the effort required by MiFID II, which ultimately helps users reduce reconciliation costs without sacrificing their competitive edge. Madrec is hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud and was built over a six-month period at the Level 39 fintech workspace in London’s Canary Wharf.
Vanguard Partners with Blockchain Startup, Symbiont
Coin Desk | December 13, 2017 | https://goo.gl/5FKf88
In early next year, the mutual fund giant, Vanguard, will begin using smart contracts developed by blockchain startup, Symbiont. The smart contracts technology was tested by simplifying the way Vanguard takes data from the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Vanguard uses specific data from UChicago — company names, share counts, index weighting, stock splits, etc. — to determine the composition of certain index funds.
The project will go into full production in early 2018, as the pilot proved successful in speeding up the delivery of data from CRSP to Vanguard, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing risk. A total of 17 index funds will be involved in this partnership, totaling $1.15 trillion in assets. A principal in Vanguard’s Investment Management Group, Warren Pennington, said: “Using this platform, investment managers will be able to instantly distribute, receive, and process index data, resulting in better benchmark tracking and significant cost savings that potentially results in better returns for our clients.”
France Approves Blockchain Trading of Unlisted Securities
Coin Desk | December 11, 2017 | https://goo.gl/B7DBMC
The French government has approved new regulations that will allow banks and fintech firms to create blockchain platforms for unlisted securities trading. This move will allow for the trading of assets without the assistance of middlemen. It would also speed up the trading process enormously.
The government hopes this move will make Paris a central financial hub in the near future. This May, the Parisian government also launched public sector blockchain efforts in conjunction with a partnership with a blockchain working group.
Amazon’s Achilles’ Heel? 13 Industries That Could Be Transformed By Blockchain Tech
Nasdaq | December 11, 2017 | https://goo.gl/8v4tN3
The opportunities for blockchain technology span several industries. Currently, the technology is a focus for start-ups, consultancies and financial services firms. In the near future, technology and internet companies will also become more engaged in blockchain opportunities.
Prominent players in the space currently are IBM and Microsoft. Soon, companies like Spotify, Amazon and Alphabet will begin to adopt blockchain for their own systems. For some industries blockchain may be a disruptor, such as in the money transfer, cloud storage and digital wallet space. In the Internet of Things space, in addition to the retail industry, blockchain presents a chance for companies to enhance their business.
Blockchain Education
IBM Blockchain Foundation Developer Course
We are excited to accounted the IBM Blockchain Learning site is now live, featuring a new IBM Blockchain Foundation Developer Course. Stay tuned for more courses and sessions coming in the next couple weeks!
IBM Blockchain Foundation Consulting Course
Continue to follow the IBM framework, please take this course building upon your consulting knowledge. Stay tuned for more courses and sessions coming in the next couple weeks!
BlogChain: Machine Wallets & Machine-to-Machine Transactions
By Jack O’Brien and Will Quaranta
The modern banking system is built on the assumption that transactions take place between two humans participants, but it’s time for a change. Advances in blockchain technology have led to the creation of machine wallets, which allow preprogrammed or autonomous machines to complete monetary transactions without human intervention. This successful technology is already giving way to a model of machine-centered businesses, so you might be wondering how will it affect you in the coming years?
Inside the Most Disruptive Technology Since the Internet
Blockchain is coming. Like the internet before it, this new shared digital infrastructure is set to transform the economy and revolutionize how you consume media, how you communicate online and even how you vote. So strap in with OZY, and let us catch you up on what it all means and then vault you ahead to the next big cryptotrends.
Blockchain @ IBM Storytelling Team
Blockchain Part I: Evaluate, Engineer, Execute
Pramod Achanta | August 24, 2017
Blockchain Part II: Engineering Transformation; Building out the Blueprint
Pramod Achanta | September 8, 2017
Blockchain Part III: Execution; Breathing Life into Blueprints
Pramod Achanta | September 15, 2017
Blockchain @ IBM Institute for Business Value
Driving changes
Automation, digital commerce and the Internet of Things are redefining vehicle operation, usage and ownership models.
Advancing blockchain
In this IBM Institute for Business Value Expert Insights report, we share some lessons from a successful, ongoing blockchain initiative between CLS and IBM.
An expanding market
Central banks and financial system regulators around the world are asking themselves how blockchain is going to change their technology underpinnings and those of the commercial banks and financial institutions they regulate. These executives are especially concerned about the non-functional requirements for blockchain.
Tuned to trust
The current model for managing identity is quickly becoming unsustainable — costly, disjointed and all too fallible. Blockchain, the technology underlying distributed ledgers shared across a scalable group of individuals and institutions, takes a new approach. How should organizations approach this new opportunity?
Transparency that engenders trust
There is no doubt that blockchain is about bringing trust to transactions. For almost any supply chain — be it food, medical records, precious gems and minerals, real estate or credit default swaps, to name a few — success depends on the promise of transparency and auditability for all participants.
Fast forward
For centuries, global trade has been the single greatest creator of wealth in human history and market friction the greatest obstacle to wealth. Blockchain technology –which creates a permanent and transparent record of transactions –has the potential to obviate intractable frictions across industries.
Our Contributors
Disclaimer: The postings are of our contributors and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
