Week Ending October 28, 2016

Three things to know

Competition is heating up in the $30 trillion cross-border payments market, with Visa, Swift, and a dozen global banks led by Ripple, all announcing new Blockchain payments initiatives.   

The current system, by all accounts, is slow, expensive, and has limited security.  For example, it takes between 3 to 5 days and sometimes longer for a payment to reach its destination.  During that time, there is little to no visibility into the funds current location.  Additionally, the recent hacking of the Swift network has eroded the confidence of some users.   

Visa is developing a blockchain cross-border payment system to accelerate and simplify this system. The system is for high dollar, commercial payments and will enable companies to avoid transferring money via wire or using correspondent banks.  However, Swift is not sitting idly by.  Instead of waiting for disruption to occur, Swift is creating its own disruption by developing a blockchain system for payments. Among the goals of the Swift initiative are to reduce the time it takes for a payment to reach its destination and increasing security. Both Visa and Swift plan to go live in 2017

Also announced this week is another trial of cross-border payments being undertaken by Ripple and twelve global banks.  These banks plan to develop a payments system that utilizes the Ripple digital asset XRP, instead of the traditional nostro accounts.

I have heard some in the Blockchain world belittle payments as a use case.  In their view, the payments use case is too boring for blockchain, or there are too many legal uncertainties.  In some ways, they are right.  However, $30 trillion per year in cross-border payments makes the use case much more compelling.


Visa Taps Blockchain for Cross-Border Payment Plan

Swift Fights to Stay Relevant in A Blockchain World

Financial Innovation Startup and 12 Global Banks Test Blockchain Based Cross-Border Payment …

Weekly Blockchain

Financial Services
Insurers want to explore Blockchain

S&P could change the ratings of major banks if blockchain tech takes off

Major banks open to exploring blockchain but majority hesitant to fully commit, study finds
Blockchain
 Startups Collaborate to Support Currency Trading

Capital One partners with blockchain builder Gem as part of Treasury Management Platform

Money 20/20 recap: Jack Dorsey, blockchain, and the future of financial services

IBM and SBI Securities test bond trading on the blockchain

Credit-card issuer Synchrony Financial joins blockchain group

ConsenSys, Synechron and BlockApps collaborate for financial services blockchain applications

TU Delft and ABN AMRO to collaborate on the development of blockchain applications

Overstock to Start Trading Equity on Its T0 Blockchain Platform

Global
Blockchain
 gets its first test with international trade

Major banks mark first-ever international trade using blockchain tech

European Banks Risk Lagging Wall Street in Blockchain Race

Huawei Joins Hyperledger as Blockchain Group Adds 10 Members

Singapore Central Bank Inks Blockchain Deals with India, South Korea

Korea’s Fourth Largest Bank Tests Blockchain with Coinplug; Eyes Commercial Services

Blockchain: Japan Leads the Way

Here’s What Asian Lenders Are Doing with Blockchain Technology

Aussie Bank’s 7000-Mile Blockchain Experiment Could Change Trade

Indian Government & Singapore’s Central Bank Partner over Blockchain & Fintech

Government

Blockchain for President: How It Can Disrupt US Voting Machine

Uses and Applications

Bankers plan to give Corda blockchain code to Hyperledger project

Early Blockchain Adopters Kicking Tires

Acronis: Yep, we’re using blockchain for backup now

Blockchain Validating Peers do not start

Legal Implications of Expanded Use of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain Hype Takes Hit as Chain Releases Code for All to Use

The blockchain cyber security revolution

In Milestone Release, Chain Open-Sources its Blockchain Tech

Capital One Testing Blockchain for Healthcare Claims

IBM Blockchain Pilot Seeks to Solve ‘Last Mile’ of Delivery

Chronicled Introduces Ethrereum Blockchain-Based IoT Delivery Drone

Resonate blockchain-based music-streaming service opens up

Mediachain Labs Launches Blockchain-Based Content Attribution Engine by: John Camdir
UK Blockchain Startup Pitches Consulting With IT Partnerships

Walmart Wants to Apply Blockchain to Other Products Beyond Pork

Alibaba Deploys Onchain’s Blockchain for Super Secured Email

What Disney Actually Wants to Achieve with its Own Blockchain

Disney, yes Disney, becomes Blockchain’s biggest proponent

Thought Leadership

The fourth industrial revolution and blockchain

The Disruptive Impact of Blockchain

Blockchain bandits hit crypto start-ups

Blockchain: reinventing the squeaky wheel

ZCash Will Be a Truly Anonymous Blockchain-Based Currency

Jaxx Blockchain Wallet to Integrate Zcash

Searching for Practical Applications of Bitcoin and Blockchain at Money 20/20

Blockchain: Transforming Development

Erasing anonymity: How to prevent hacking with blockchain | #ibmwow

Healthcare’s blue ocean strategy for blockchain

Bitcoin Weekly: New mobile wallet technology and blockchain implementations emerge
Physicians Say Blockchain Healthcare Ideas in Need of Exam

Interview with Blockchain Gambling Startup Vdice Founder Jason Kirby