A summary of select stories from the cryptocurrency and blockchain world during this week.
Asia-focused lender HSBC, through its blockchain-powered platform, has reduced the cost of settling foreign exchange trades by 25 percent, Reuters reported quoting a bank executive overseeing the project. Mark Williamson, chief operating officer of FX cash trading and risk management, told that the bank processes between 3,500 and 5,000 trades a day on its "FX Everywhere" system.
Here is a summary of some of the widely followed stories on cryptocurrency and blockchain during the past 24 hours.
Spanish banking group Banco Santander has struck a 5-year global technology agreement with IBM, valued at about $700 million, to enable Santander Group to accelerate its business modernization using emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Big Data. The deal is expected to help the bank reduce annual IT spending costs.
Blockchain platform VAKT announced the appointment of former JPMorgan executive Etienne Amic as its new Chief Executive Officer. VAKT created a blockchain-powered post-trade processing and management platform for commodities.
Here is a summary of some of the widely followed stories on cryptocurrency and blockchain during the past 24 hours.
US-based overseas remittance startup SendFriend said $1.7 million has been raised in capital in a funding round from MIT Media Lab, Barclays, the Mastercard Foundation, Ripple, Techstars, Mahindra Finance, 2020 Ventures, and 8 Decimal Capital. The Blockchain-powered remittance platform will help Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the U.S to securely transfer funds.
Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) said it will launch a new blockchain-based payment system in 2020. For the new payment network business, it will establish a joint venture in collaboration with US content delivery network Akamai Technologies, Inc. The new venture, named "Global Open Network, Inc." will be headquartered in Tokyo. MUFG will have 80 percent stake in the company, while
California is using Blockchain technology and Internet of Things (IoT) to tackle drought by making groundwater usage sustainable. The Freshwater Trust (TFT) is partnering IBM Research and SweetSense Inc. to pilot technologies which can accurately monitor and track groundwater use in what is called "one of the largest and most at risk aquifers in North America."
Here is a summary of some of the widely followed stories on cryptocurrency and blockchain during the past 24 hours.
The Forbes magazine published the list of 50 "Most Innovative Fintech Companies" in the world. California-based personal finance company Acorns tops the "Fintech 50" list with a funding of $257 million. The 2019 "Fintech 50" list features six blockchain/crypto currency companies, half the number of such firms listed in the 2018 edition. "While crypto prices and ICOs collapsed, overall investment
Full-service blockchain technology company Bitfury Group and Longenesis announced a partnership with radiology blockchain marketplace Medical Diagnostics Web or MDW to deliver next-Generation healthcare Blockchain. Under the deal, Bitfury, Longenesis, a partnership between Bitfury Group and AI company Insilico Medicine, and MDW will create a next-generation platform.
GM Financial, the finance arm of auto giant General Motors Spring, is partnering Spring Labs to use its blockchain-based network Spring Protocol to improve data security standards for the auto finance industry to prevent fraud. They will address issues such as identity verification and synthetic identity fraud.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to launch a new pilot project for members of the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain for encouraging the use of innovative and emerging technologies for enhanced tracing and verification of prescription drugs in the U.S. to ensure suspect and illegitimate products do not enter the supply chain.
Swiss asset management firm Credit Suisse Asset Management and Portuguese financial institution Banco Best successfully processed blockchain-powered live end-to-end cross-border distribution of an investment fund. The fund transaction was processed using FundsDLT, a blockchain-based decentralized platform.