Blockchain has quickly become the buzzword in fintech for 2017; Consensus 2017 took place this week in New York City...
Hyperledger has added seven new members bringing its total membership to 135; new members include CollectorIQ Inc., Korea Exchange, Shanghai Onechain Information Technology, Shenzhen Forms Syntron Information, The State of Illinois, The Netherlands Organization for applied scientific research (TNO) and 1worldblockchain; the new members will help to support the consortium's goal of developing blockchain solutions and creating an open standard for distributed ledgers. Source
The LendIt team is excited to return to China for our second annual Lang Di Fintech conference on July 15...
The European Commission will implement a pilot project to study blockchain and is formalizing a European Union Blockchain Observatory; members of the Observatory will research blockchain solutions and uses; the Observatory is expected to become an expert resource for advising the European Commission on blockchain development and policy recommendations. Source
The two firms have built the Yijian Blockchain Technology Application System; the platform seeks to increase transparency of pharmaceutical supply chain networks by tracking the flow of drugs, encrypting trading records and more easily authenticating transactions; overall it is expected to increase payments efficiency and reduce the payments timing for pharmaceutical retailers; the Yijian System is still in a pilot phase and expects to expand in July. Source
Ripple has struck partnerships with MUFG, BBVA, SEB, Akbank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, SBI Remit, Star One Credit Union, EZ Forex and Cambridge FX; these new partnerships show Ripple's reach as they range from Japan, India, Canada and the US; banks were a big part of this new group, as Ripple vice president of product, Asheesh Birla, explained to CoinDesk: "The reason that we chose to work with banks is that they are experts in local regulation. A lot of them have that pull and understand the regulatory environment and we built our product in such a way that it fits within the different regulatory schemes around the world." Source
Blockchain technology would help to make data and privacy more secure as those aspects are considered central to the way blockchain technology works; the three main advantages of using blockchain are blocking identity theft, preventing data tampering and stopping distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks; each of these advantages are now beginning to be looked at for solutions in banking, storing government data and protecting consumer information from hacking attacks. Source
Tencent has reported plans in a white paper for the development of a blockchain platform; the firm says it plans to use the platform for offering digital asset management, authentication and shared economies, among other services; the firm also says the platform will help it to collaborate with other firms; in its white paper, Tencent also advocates for blockchain development and government integration in China. Source
Chinese P2P lender Dianrong is looking to implement blockchain across their entire company to enhance transparency and security for their customers; this is in addition to a recently announced partnership with Taiwan-based Foxconn to launch a blockchain startup called Chained Finance; according to CoinDesk Dianrong's blockchain plans are detailed on their website and they explain using an ethereum-based solution designed to facilitate tamper-proof loan contracts, donations to charity and credit management; Dianrong is also rumored to go public sometime in the near future, though IPO talk has been discussed for a few years. Source
Blockchain Capital has raised $10 million for the Blockchain Capital III Digital Liquid Venture Fund, LP which plans to invest in blockchain startups; the funds were raised through a digital shareholder token offering; Blockchain Capital says the tokens can be traded, offering enhanced liquidity for investors. Source