2016 was an influential year for blockchain technology; companies across all industries invested in blockchain development; CoinDesk reflects on the year with 13 top stories on blockchain; among the leading headlines were Hyperledger and R3, consortiums which led development within the industry; central banks explored the use of blockchain with the Bank of England announcing in January plans for testing distributed ledger with its settlement system; IBM took a lead role, both with its blockchain as a service offering and involvement with the Hyperledger Project; digital currencies were also at the forefront of industry activity. Source