Four European Banks Process Live Trades with Blockchain System

A group of European banks has completed testing of what they say is the first commercially viable 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 tampe 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 tampe Read this Term-based trading system, according to an official announcement.

Specifically, four banks used a blockchain-based system called we.trade to execute seven real-life transactions between ten companies over five days.

We.trade

We.trade is a platform which tracks and manages transactions between businesses from beginning to end. According to its website, features real-time trade 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 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 Read this Term and know-your-customer checks, as well as smart contracts ensuring automatic payment when an agreement is completed.

We.trade was established by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Societe Generale and UniCredit, who began working on it in October 2017. A company must be a customer of one of these banks to use the platform.

It is currently available in eleven European countries. COO Roberto Mancone said: "The next step will be getting buy-in from additional banks and their customers in Europe and further afield.”

Hyperledger Fabric

We.trade is built on IBM's blockchain and is powered by Hyperledger Fabric.

Hyperledger Fabric is, according to its website, a "blockchain framework implementation" that is able to hide transaction amounts from all people except that parties to that transaction. In this way, it can be trusted with confidential information, without it passing through a central authority.

Hyperledger itself is a collaborative project that promotes open source blockchain adoption around the world. It was created by the Linux Foundation in December 2015 and now has more than 200 companies from many different industries as members.

IBM was chosen to be the IT component of the partnership after outbidding six other interested parties.

Parm Sangha, GBS Blockchain Leader at IBM, said: "To convene a large network of regulated banks and demonstrate how blockchain technology can help them gain efficiencies and provide greater transparency in live transactions is a disruptive model that has the potential to reshape the future of global trade finance."