It was revealed a few days ago that R3 has lost at least one of its founding members, Goldman Sachs, and had to cut the target for its first major funding round by $50 million. Following that, it is now confirmed that Morgan Stanley is the latest financial institution to drop out of the  Blockchain  Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Read this Term consortium and we turned to an expert in the field to try and figure out what is going on behind the scenes.

GFT is a provider of business, design and technology consulting solutions to the investment banking community, which has approximately 4,000 employees working for nine out of ten of the world’s largest banks and hedge funds. GFT recently announced that it has been working with Google to drive real-world blockchain testing. The project, tested in collaboration with RBS, enables banks to simulate distributed ledger models within a globally distributed and scalable test environment. Given this expertise, we asked Nick Weisfeld, Data Practice Head and Blockchain Specialist, at GFT for his take on the matter.

“Goldman Sachs, Santander and now Morgan Stanley’s drop out from the R3 consortium has led to a flurry of speculation about the future of the research group. Consortium aside, the crux of the issue is not to do with the interest in or potential of blockchain technology, but to do with the commercials of the business model. It’s not yet clear how this is going to work, other than that the banks are adamant that they are not going to create another commercial entity that can hold them over a barrel when it comes to operating fees. These departures show that there is a real question over the value being generated by R3, and an even bigger question over their ability to commercialize.”

Both Goldman and Santander are investors in Blythe Masters’ Digital Asset Holdings (DAH) – could it be that DAH is about to release a competitive platform to Corda, which R3 is set to release as open source at the end of November?

“Regardless, innovation never happens by committee. We’re starting to see real world applications of blockchain – we need to go through that phase first before we start agreeing to standards. Utility  Settlement  Settlement Settlement in finance refers to the process when a buyer makes payment and receives the agreed-upon services or goods. The term is used on exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) when security changes hands. When the asset is transferred and placed in the new buyer's name, it is considered settled. This process could take a few hours or several days after a trade is made. It depends on the clearance process. In the United States, the settlement date for marketable stocks is usually 2 business days or T+2 after the trade is executed, and for listed options and government securities it is usually 1 day after the execution. Conversely in Europe, settlement date has also been adopted as 2 business days settlement cycles T+2.Settlement ExplainedA settlement is also the process of the payment of an outstanding account balance, an open invoice or charge. The electronic settlement system is a relatively new construct that has only become a standard in the past thirty years.For example, in real estate finance, you have settlement when the funds are accepted, and the deed to the property is traders to the new owner. Settlement can also mean an adjustment or agreement reached in matters of finance or business. For example, we have settled with the bank or the credit card company. A number of risks arise for the parties during the settlement process. These are effectively managed by the process of clearing, which follows trading and precedes settlement. By extension, clearing involves modifying those contractual obligations so as to facilitate settlement, often by netting and novation. Settlement in finance refers to the process when a buyer makes payment and receives the agreed-upon services or goods. The term is used on exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) when security changes hands. When the asset is transferred and placed in the new buyer's name, it is considered settled. This process could take a few hours or several days after a trade is made. It depends on the clearance process. In the United States, the settlement date for marketable stocks is usually 2 business days or T+2 after the trade is executed, and for listed options and government securities it is usually 1 day after the execution. Conversely in Europe, settlement date has also been adopted as 2 business days settlement cycles T+2.Settlement ExplainedA settlement is also the process of the payment of an outstanding account balance, an open invoice or charge. The electronic settlement system is a relatively new construct that has only become a standard in the past thirty years.For example, in real estate finance, you have settlement when the funds are accepted, and the deed to the property is traders to the new owner. Settlement can also mean an adjustment or agreement reached in matters of finance or business. For example, we have settled with the bank or the credit card company. A number of risks arise for the parties during the settlement process. These are effectively managed by the process of clearing, which follows trading and precedes settlement. By extension, clearing involves modifying those contractual obligations so as to facilitate settlement, often by netting and novation. Read this Term Coin and DAH may offer a quicker path to adoption, as they are focused on commercial success. We welcome the additional competition that this split will promote to R3's consortium model as this is beneficial for the industry in general.”