IDFPR Joins R3 Consortium
Illinois becomes first state level regulator to join R3 distributed ledger group
March 16, 2017 (Chicago/New York/London/Singapore) — The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has joined financial innovation firm R3’s collaborative initiative to design and apply distributed ledger technologies (DLT) to wholesale financial markets.
While R3 counts a number of national regulators amongst its member base, Illinois is the first state level regulator to join the group. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will be collaborating with over 80 of the world’s largest financial institutions to develop groundbreaking commercial applications for the financial services industry that leverage the appropriate elements of DLT.
The R3 team of financial industry veterans, technologists and cryptocurrency experts collaborate with members on research, experimentation, design and engineering to help advance this technology to meet banking requirements for identity, privacy, security, scalability, interoperability and integration with legacy systems.
Members work closely with R3 to continue the development of Corda™, an open source distributed ledger platform for recording, managing and synchronising financial agreements. Corda is heavily inspired by and captures the benefits of blockchain systems, but with design choices that make it able to meet the needs of regulated financial institutions.
David Rutter, CEO of R3, commented: “Regulators that foster and encourage adoption of innovative financial technology in its early stages play a crucial role in creating a safer, more efficient financial system for all participants. We have actively engaged with regulators, trade associations and government entities across the world since R3’s inception, and look forward to working with the State of Illinois to explore how distributed ledger technology can benefit banks and other businesses in the state.”
Secretary Bryan Schneider, commented: “As Illinois’ financial regulator, we are committed to embracing the potential that distributed ledger technologies bring to our financial institutions. Its potential to dramatically lower transactional costs, automate manual processes, and reduce opportunities for fraud and risk are truly promising. Through our collaboration with R3, we look to provide the support necessary to ensure the commercial and social viability of this emerging technology.”
About R3
R3 is leading a consortium with over 80 of the world’s largest financial institutions to develop ground-breaking commercial applications for the financial services industry that leverage the appropriate elements of distributed and shared ledger technology.
Operating in New York, London and Singapore, the R3 team is made up of financial industry veterans, technologists, and new tech entrepreneurs, bringing together expertise from electronic financial markets, cryptography and digital currencies.
The R3 Lab and Research Centre has quickly become a centre of gravity for collaborative research and testing of distributed and shared-ledger inspired technologies, and is where R3 works with its partners to define, design and deliver the next generation of financial infrastructure.
About the State of Illinois
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation licenses over 1.1 million individuals in approximately 100 industries in Illinois between its four divisions: Banking, Financial Institutions, Professional Regulation and Real Estate.
In November of 2016, Illinois formed a consortium of Illinois state and county agencies, known as the Illinois Blockchain Initiative, to explore innovations presented by Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. The goal of the initiative is to determine if this groundbreaking technology can be leveraged to create more efficient, integrated and trusted state services, while providing a welcoming environment for the Blockchain community.
Press contacts
State of Illinois
Terry Horstman
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
Terry.Horstman@Illinois.gov
+1 217–558–2953
R3
Nick Warren/Nick Murray-Leslie
Chatsworth Communications
contact@chatsworthcommunications.com
+44 (0)207–440–9780
Charley Cooper
R3
charley@r3cev.com
+1 917–855–8529
About the Illinois Blockchain Initiative
The Illinois Blockchain Initiative is designed to be a collaborative effort and position Illinois as a leader in blockchain innovation. The State invites all government entities, businesses, organizations and academia interested in participating in this exciting opportunity to contact either: Cab Morris, Deputy Director of Strategy and Operational Performance Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation at richard.morris@illinois.gov or Jennifer O’Rourke, Illinois Blockchain Business Liaison, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity at jennifer.orourke@illinois.gov.
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