The development of R3’s enterprise blockchain platform Corda is being plagued by fundamental disagreements over its core vision, causing frustration and delay. The claim was made in a report from FT Alphaville on Aug. 22, citing numerous insider sources. “Corda maximalists” versus interoperability proponents Sources close to R3 reportedly allege that there is a gulf between Corda’s engineers and its senior management as regards the product’s design and development. The engineers have purportedly lost faith in the technology itself, considering it to be functioning poorly and underscoring that it lacks scalability. They have also pointed to the allegedly 5-figure monthly …

Enterprise blockchain developer R3 announced on Aug. 14 that it intends to open a second European office in Dublin in 2020. This comes just weeks after doubling the size of its London hub as part of an aggressive expansion plan. Hiring to expand global headcount by 25% The new office will serve as a tech hub, staffed largely with engineering specialists working closely with the existing London team. R3 has embarked on a hiring mission, which aims to increase its global headcount by around one quarter. As well as the Dublin engineers, this will include commercial and client-facing roles around …

Blockchain development company Truffle has unveiled plans to expand its fully managed developer suite to include support for the blockchain protocols Corda, Hyperledger Fabric and Tezos. Truffle founder and CEO Tim Coulter announced the company’s plans at TruffleCon 2019 — Truffle’s annual dev conference — on Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington. Coulter commented on how he thinks these tools will pave the way for collaboration via interoperability, saying: “We are empowering developers to build enterprise-grade solutions on any network of their choosing, creating a path for future cross-network collaboration.” According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the Truffle Suite …

New York-based enterprise software firm R3, known for its enterprise blockchain platform Corda, has doubled the size of its London Wall office. Business intelligence firm Mondo Visione reported on the company’s new hiring goals on Aug. 1. According to the report, R3 has increased the size of its London branch as partial accommodation for the company’s intended 85 global hires by the end of 2019. Out of the 85, over half are intended to be installed in the company’s London office. R3 is reportedly primarily recruiting software engineers, but will also onboard some commercial and client-facing professionals. Additionally, the report …

Business advisory firm KPGM has partnered with tech companies Tomia, Microsoft and R3 to create a blockchain-based settlements solution for the telecom industry in anticipation of 5G network services. KPMG announced the partnership and product plans in an official blog post on July 16. As per the report, the planned blockchain solution intends to make use of smart contracts in order to reduce disputes between carriers and mobile operators. Such smart contracts would reportedly include critical information for this purpose, by providing details such as correct rates, destination and bilateral deal information. The upshot, KPMG hopes, is that settlements will …

Fintech firm Token has received a $16.5 million injection from investors including the venture arm of banking giant BNP Paribas, a news release announced on June 18. The self-described open banking platform says it will use the capital to further develop its TokenOSTM operating system — and “accelerate new ways of innovating payments with digital money and ID solutions.” According to the company, its ecosystem enables banks, customers and developers to complete transactions securely, instantly and with less friction. Token claims more than 4,000 banks have connected to its platform, with Mastercard recently coming on board as a partner. Steve …

Blockchain software consortium R3 revealed that it is developing a blockchain platform in Brazil with banks Bradesco, Itau and B3, Cointelegraph Brazil reported on June 12. The R3 Consortium — which is composed of large banks and technology companies — announced during the CIAB Febraban event in São Paulo that it is currently collaborating with Brazilian banks. During the event, R3 executives claimed that the consortium partnered with Itau and Bradesco banks to build a blockchain-enabled platform for foreign trade and insurance. The consortium — which recently opened an office in the country — further noted that the Brazilian stock …

United Kingdom-based international bank Barclays and technology investment firm Bold Capital Partners have led a $5.5 million funding round for fintech firm Crowdz's blockchain-based global invoice exchange, according to a press release on May 28. According to the report, the blockchain-based technology will purportedly make invoice processing more efficient by digitizing and automatizing what are traditionally manual processes. The technology also automates the process of finding financiers and sending them invoices. CEO of Crowdz, Payson E. Johnston, emphasizes the importance that this speedier invoice processing has for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs): "Today, small and midsize businesses often have to …

CULedger, a blockchain consortium and credit union service organization (CUSO), has chosen enterprise software firm R3’s Corda blockchain to underpin its forthcoming cross-border payments product. The news was reported by fintech news outlet Finextra on May 21. As reported, CULedger joined the R3 global blockchain ecosystem in December 2018. The blockchain CUSO implements the technology to improve cybersecurity and mitigate fraud risks, as well as to streamline administrative and operational processes for the credit union industry. CULedger also provides a specific blockchain-based identification solution for credit union members. CULedger’s forthcoming product, dubbed CU Pay, has reportedly been designed to enable …

British financial software firm Finastra has signed three global banks on its R3 Corda blockchain-based syndicated loans platform, the firm officially announced on May 14. France-based banking institutions BNP Paribas, Natixis, and Societe Generale have officially joined Finastra’s syndicated lending platform Fusion LenderComm, following previous pilots back in 2017. Based on blockchain consortium R3’s open source blockchain platform Corda Enterprise, Finastra’s Fusion LenderComm reportedly enables banks to instantly share credit agreements, accrual balances and position data to lenders. Cécile Bartenieff, Chief Operating Officer of Global Banking and Investor Solutions at Societe Generale, stated that the Fusion LenderComm initiative will bring …

Recently, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), with the participation of enterprise software company R3, successfully tested a blockchain project that will speed up real estate transactions. Such a solution can provide transparent and fast operations for the end user, R3 officials say. However, is it already possible to talk about a breakthrough in the market? How will the traditional process of real estate transactions and mortgage issuance change? Why did banks, skeptical before, change their attitude toward blockchain? And what are the risks for private blockchain platforms? Experts answer. Barclays and RBS’s solution as a response to …

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has announced it will pilot R3’s Marco Polo blockchain network for trade finance, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 8. As previously reported, Marco Polo — which is powered by R3’s Corda enterprise blockchain platform — counts major international banks such as BNP Paribas, ING and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as members. Other prominent bank members include Standard Chartered Bank and NatWest, according to today’s press release. RBI has reportedly been eyeing expansion in the Central and Eastern Europe market, after reporting a consolidated profit of 1.27 billion euros (around $142 …