Hong Kong and Thailand’s central banks have stepped closer to implementing a joint central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border payments. On Jan. 22, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) officially announced the outcomes of a joint CBDC research project called Project Inthanon-LionRock. Alongside publishing a joint press release, the banks have issued a detailed 90-page report providing an exhaustive analysis of the potential risks and benefits of CBDCs for real-time money transfers, liquidity management, regulatory compliance, and other aspects of finance. Inthanon-LionRock project was initiated in May 2019 After the HKMA and the …

In the last quarter of 2019, Hyperledger’s Fabric open source blockchain software saw more developer activity than R3’s Corda platform. Blockchain service firm Chainstack recently published a report about developer activity on six major enterprise blockchains, showing that Fabric has overtaken Corda in regard to dev activity on its repository. A chart included in the report shows that Fabric developer activity exceeded Corda’s in Q4 2019. Total GitHub activity per-protocol. Source: Chainstack Fabric’s growth after the switch to GitHub The surge in Fabric developer activity closely followed the project’s transition from the code management tool Gerrit to the more popular …

Multinational IT services giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) launched a blockchain app development kit (DevKit). According to an announcement published by TCS on Dec. 16, the new Quartz DevKit is a low-code web-based integrated development environment that aims to allow enterprises to quickly build and deploy applications on any chosen blockchain in a simplified way. Fast blockchain app deployment The DevKit features expandable pre-built templates for platform setup, administration, deployment, platform security authentication, encryption, node, identity and user management. The firm claims that this lets programmers write smart contracts 40% faster than without its DevKit. Global Quartz head at TCS …

The Marco Polo Network, a trade finance network co-developed by major enterprise blockchain firm R3, has completed its largest finance trial. Built on R3’s open-source blockchain platform Corda, Marco Polo has hosted the largest global trade finance trial that involved over 70 organizations from 25 countries including financial giants like Japanese SBI Holdings, according to an official announcement on Dec. 12. 100% of respondents in the trial believe that blockchain has the potential to improve their industries As the trial has involved more than 340 participants from multiple industries ranging from financial services to automotive, the joint initiative purportedly intends …

The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has joined blockchain software firm R3’s trade finance network, the Marco Polo Network. The American banking and financial services firm — which has over $1.9 trillion in assets under management — will conduct an evaluation program using the technology, Marco Polo announced Nov. 25. By joining Marco Polo, BNY Mellon intends to expand its technical expertise and explore how blockchain technology could be applied to its trade finance activities. The move is purportedly in line with BNY Mellon’s efforts to eliminate paper-based processes and digitize its business. Marco Polo is a consortium …

German securities marketplace Deutsche Boerse and Swiss state-run telecom Swisscom have settled securities transactions using different blockchain protocols. In a joint proof-of-concept (PoC) involving a number of banks, the participants exchanged money in the form of cash tokens against tokenized shares, Deutsche Börse officially announced on Nov. 19. Based on blockchain technology, the joint PoC intends to show the potential of new technologies in the financial services sector and maintain Germany and Switzerland’s expertise in the digital asset ecosystem. Three major Swiss banks participated in the PoC The PoC involved major Swiss banks, including the fourth-largest Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank, …

Lithuania’s central bank, Bank of Lithuania, has selected technology behemoth IBM and IT services firm Tieto as the finalists contending to develop its blockchain platform. Financial technology news outlet FintechFutures reported on the contest’s developments on Oct. 23. Per the report, both firms will test their platform and the winner will be selected later in 2019 as part of the project dubbed LBChain. The project's manager at the Bank of Lithuania Andrius Adamonis commented: “The final testing session will show which solution is most suitable for market needs. [...] We believe that the greatest advantage of LBChain is its versatility. …

Archax, a London-based digital securities exchange, will use blockchain software firm R3’s Corda technology to manage post-trade activities. On Oct. 18, Archax announced in a press release that its post-trade processes will now run on distributed ledger technology. Archax will use a private version of Corda Enterprise within its own ecosystem. Graham Rodford, CEO of Archax, said that current post-trade processes in traditional financial markets involve many intermediaries, making them highly inefficient. Rodford said that using blockchain technology will make markets more efficient. Post-trade processes occur after a trade is complete, wherein a buyer and seller of a security approve …

Twenty-eight organizations including Raiffeisen and 17 other banks have participated in the successful completion of the Ivno Global Tokenized Collateral Trial. This is the first global token trial on the R3 Corda platform, hosted on Microsoft Azure, as reported on Oct. 17. Efficiencies in tokenized collateral The trial, conducted by London-based Ivno, saw the participating organizations create $18 billion of Trial Tokens, and transfer them through the Ivno network. This was a live demonstration of how mobile collateral tokens can be used for instant settlement, collateral management and effective cash transfer. Ivno’s platform is designed to improve efficiency and create …

The Italian Banking Association (ABI) successfully processed the reconciliation data of an entire year of local banking activity on a blockchain platform. The association announced the successful test of the Spunta Project’s system in a press release published on Oct. 12. The successful test of the framework has been first announced by Italian media at the end of September though with little details. Platform viability has been demonstrated Now ABI reveals that the test has seen 200 million data entries being processed by the blockchain banking reconciliation system, effectively simulating one year of Italian banking activity. The successful test allegedly …

Dubai-based fintech company Wethaq has entered into a strategic partnership with enterprise software firm R3, in order to create a platform for issuing and trading sukuk securities based on R3’s Corda offering. A platform for Islamic securities According to a press release on Aug. 28, Wethaq’s platform is built on R3’s open source enterprise blockchain platform Corda, and the company has been taking steps to ensure that it is likewise compliant with Sharia Law. Wethaq’s platform is reportedly designed to improve the market infrastructure for issuing and trading sukuk securities. Sukuk is heavily regulated and demands a considerable amount of …

The Kerala Blockchain Academy (KBA), a government initiative under the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, is now a general partner of R3. Local news outlet The Economic Times reported on Aug. 27 that New York-based enterprise blockchain firm R3 chose the KBA as a general partner. According to the article’s author, the academy already designed a developer certification program on the firm’s Corda blockchain, meant for banking and technology professionals. Governmental blockchain education Per the report, KBA is the first government institution in India which offers a Corda blockchain development program. Moreover, the initiative also provides in-person training …