As the number of members of the general population that are familiar and acquainted with the blockchain increases, so do the number of financial and banking institutions that are starting to use it. One of the driving forces behind it is the financial consortium R3 CEV, which was first launched in 2015.
Yesterday, R3 released an updated version of its blockchain platform that will enable even more institutions to start using it. The newer version of R3CEV’s Corda blockchain now allows easier app integration and future updates. The platform, which started as a proprietary blockchain has since then turned open source, encouraging adoption and accelerated development.
Part of the appeal of R3’s platform is its relative ease of use, but with its most recent update, it now also enables users to more easily integrate their own applications as they finish building them. This is important for banks and other financial bodies who are looking to rely on the blockchain to automate certain back-office processes like securities settlement and regulatory reporting, Reuters reports.
Since its launch two years ago, R3 has seen steady growth. Today, it stands as the largest financial consortium in the world, with members that include 100 banks, regulators, and other professional services firms. As of this writing, R3 has also partnered with the likes of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and a global bank to build an app with Corda to improve “regulatory reporting of mortgage transactions.”
Richard Gendal Brown, CTO of R3, said in a statement,
“There are a number of people who are building on [Corda] or have done live transactions. What they get is certainty as they finalize their applications and move them into large scale production that they won’t have disruptions.”
It’s great to see that long-standing institutions are slowly but surely getting into the new technology enabled by blockchain and cryptocurrencies. But it’s too early to judge whether or not these current efforts will become successful in the long-term.
Ref: Reuters | Image: NewsBTC