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Major bank CEOs say #blockchain will underpin the financial industry ‘in five years’ $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HPQ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:28 AM on Monday, June 4th, 2018
  • Banks have invested millions in developing blockchain applications in recent years, as part of a broader industry effort to try to cut costs and simplify their back-office processes.
  • Rather than a centralized system, blockchain allows multiple parties to have simultaneous access to a constantly updated ledger that cannot be changed.
  • “We believe there is huge promise in blockchain. It is early times in this technology but it can bring about more efficient processes,” Carlos Torres Vila, CEO of BBVA, told CNBC on Monday

Sam Meredith | @smeredith19

Apple, Facebook and other big tech can be a threat — or a partner: ING CEO   7 Hours Ago | 02:48

Blockchain technology could soon revolutionize the global banking industry, according to the chief executives of two major European lenders.

Banks have invested millions in developing blockchain applications in recent years, as part of a broader industry effort to try to cut costs and simplify their back-office processes. The technology, which is perhaps better known as the software powering cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, was initially treated with skepticism by international lenders.

However, the use of blockchain in the banking industry is increasingly viewed as a proficient way of reducing the risk of fraud, with some banks now hailing its potential.

“So, if you look at blockchain… I think the banks are really working on this now because the potential is so huge and if the top five, six global banks would put their minds to it and agree on a standard, you could force (that) standard onto the globe,” Ralph Hamers, chief executive of ING Group, told CNBC’S Arjun Kharpal at the Money 2020 fintech conference in Amsterdam on Monday.

“And I think that you can actually then get to a timeframe of five or six years in which this will work,” he added.

‘Huge promise’

Rather than a centralized system, blockchain allows multiple parties to have simultaneous access to a constantly updated ledger that cannot be changed. That makes cheating the system by faking documents, transactions or any types of information, nearly impossible.

Fascinating to see crossborder M&A in European banking back on center stage: BBVA   4 Hours Ago | 02:56

“We believe there is huge promise in blockchain. It is early times in this technology but it can bring about more efficient processes,” Carlos Torres Vila, CEO of BBVA, told CNBC on Monday.

When asked whether he was as optimistic as ING’s Hamers in predicting that blockchain technology could be rolled out throughout the industry over the next five years, Torres Vila replied: “I am, I think it does have that promise and I think that timeframe should be about right… but we will see how it develops.”

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/04/major-bank-ceos-say-blockchain-will-underpin-the-financial-industry-in-five-years.html

The #blockchain explained for non-engineers $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HPQ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:27 PM on Friday, June 1st, 2018
  • Blockchain buzz is inescapable
  • While the technology has transformed some companies and minted fresh millionaires in a dazzlingly short period of time,
    • blockchain is as confounding as it is powerful
  • If you’re confused by the hype, you’re not alone

What is blockchain? Is blockchain tech limited to Bitcoin? What is blockchain’s relationship to cryptocurrency? What are blockchain-related jobs? We answer these questions about blockchain and more.

By Dan Patterson | June 1, 2018 — 15:01 GMT (08:01 PDT) | Topic: How Blockchain Will Disrupt Business

Blockchain buzz is inescapable. And while the technology has transformed some companies and minted fresh millionaires in a dazzlingly short period of time, blockchain is as confounding as it is powerful. If you’re confused by the hype, you’re not alone.

This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature, looks at how blockchain is shaking up the economy and changing the way individuals and enterprises conduct business.

The blockchain is a decentralized, vettable, and secure technology that has, in less than a decade, become a powerful driver of digital transformation poised to help create a new employment economy. Evangelists claim blockchain tech will disrupt industrial supply chains, streamline real estate transactions, and even redefine the media industry. “Think of blockchain as the next layer of the internet,” said Tom Bollich, CTO of MadHive. “HTTP gave us websites … now we have blockchain, which is like a new layer of computing.”

SEE: The executive’s guide to implementing blockchain technology (PDF) (TechRepublic)

Employment data seems to validate blockchain’s current hype cycle. Google search data indicates a cresting wave of interest in the tech, and according to Indeed.com searches for blockchain-related jobs spiked nearly 1000 percent since 2015. Enterprise organizations like Capital One, Deloitte, ESPN, and eBay are hiring blockchain engineers, retraining project managers to facilitate integrations, and even searching for specialized attorneys.

Image: Google Search Trends

But while the technology’s applications seem nearly limitless, understanding how the blockchain works and why it’s important is challenging, even for technology and IT professionals. The blockchain is, fundamentally, an ever-expanding database. Just like a bank record, every transaction is logged and then made available to the public. The database relies on a novel method of encryption, allowing developers to verify the authenticity of each transaction.

The database is strengthened with each transaction, so to incentivize so-called ‘miners’ — individuals or organizations that use powerful GPUs to solve algorithmic challenges — each chain releases a digital ‘coin’, commonly referred to as cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin blockchain releases nodes — or, blocks — of transaction data every 8 to 10 minutes. Miners receive a portion of a coin for their effort, and the chain’s encryption is strengthened. Because the code is open and viewable by anyone with a computer, blockchain tech is often referred to as a ‘public ledger’ of activity.

Although most often associated with Bitcoin, the blockchain can be stamped with a vast spectrum of data, said Bollich’s co-founder and Riot Blockchain’s CEO John O’Rourke in an interview with TechRepublic. “It’s basically basing your faith in math [as opposed to] faith in some other trusted party that could potentially be hacked,” he said. “The blockchain allows all of that [activity] to be digitized, and secured with every single transaction on that ledger.”

Image: Satoshi NakamotoDigital currency is attractive to some because the coins are algorithmically dispensed and not controlled by a government. In the latter half of 2017 and first half of 2018 initial coin offerings — ICOs — raised billions in speculative funding.

SEE: What is blockchain? Understanding the technology and the revolution (PDF) (TechRepublic)

However, a wise man once said, “Don’t believe the hype.” When it comes to cryptocurrency and blockchain hype, we should all learn from Flavor Flav’s immutable wisdom. It’s nearly impossible to accurately value cryptocurrency. Some currencies are easy to hack. Most coins falter or never gain market traction, and established coins like Bitcoin and Ether often fluctuate wildly in price. Government regulation seems inevitable, and the SEC is cracking down on fraudulent traders.

Analysts at research firm Gartner, though still bullish on the long-term future of blockchain tech, are quick to caution that enterprise integration is not as easy as the hype might imply. According to a recent report, 14 percent of CSOs expressed concern that the technology will require significant organizational and cultural changes of the IT department. Another 77 percent of CIOs said their organization has no short-term interest in blockchain technology.

Alex Feinberg, a former Google exec and COO of Petram Security, remains confident in the long-term future of blockchain tech. Blockchain startups are on the rise, he noted, and the employment landscape is rosy for talented programmers and integration experts.

“As I started understanding what investment banks did and as I started understanding how the banking system was constructed, and as I understood how money was created,” Feinberg said, “it became apparent to me that the US government, the US banking system was in a bind.” The solution, he said, was decentralization. And the technological key to innovative decentralization? “The blockchain.”

Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-blockchain-explained-for-non-engineers/

St-Georges Eco-Mining $SX.ca $SXOOF Signs Agreement to Spin-Out Subsidiary #ZeU $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:50 AM on Thursday, May 31st, 2018

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  • Announced the signing of an arrangement agreement providing for the spin-out of its subsidiary ZeU Crypto Networks Inc
  • Intend to list ZeU on the Canadian Securities Exchange
  • Shareholders will receive 11,249,825 shares of Zeu,
    • representing one share of ZeU for every eight common shares of St-Georges held

Montreal, QC / May 31, 2018 – St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE: SX) (OTC: SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) is pleased to announce the signing of an arrangement agreement providing for the spin-out of its subsidiary ZeU Crypto Networks Inc. with the intent of listing ZeU on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, shareholders of St-Georges at the time of the completion of the Spin-Out, anticipated to be the latter part of July, will receive 11,249,825 shares of Zeu, representing one (1) share of ZeU for every eight (8) common shares of St-Georges held based on the current issued and outstanding share capital. A St-Georges Shareholders’ meeting to approve the Arrangement Agreement is set for July 5, 2018 and proxy materials related to the meeting will be delivered to shareholders and made available on SEDAR in June 2018. A copy of the Arrangement Agreement will also be filed on SEDAR. The Arrangement Agreement is subject to the acceptance of the CSE.

ZeU holds an exclusive license to use Qingdao Tiande Technologies Limited and Beijing Tiande Technologies Limited’s (collectively “Tiande”) proprietary technologies, patents and know-how to develop and commercialize novel mineral commodity production chain control, tracking and trading exchanges, and has entered into a binding asset purchase agreement with Tiande, and the intervention Guiyang Tiande Technologies Limited, to acquire substantially all the intellectual property of Tiande, as more particularly described in St-Georges February 26 and May 22, 2018 press releases.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

“Frank Dumas”

FRANK DUMAS, PRESIDENT & CEO

About St-Georges

St-Georges is developing new technologies to solve the some of the most common environmental problems in the mining industry.

The Company controls directly or indirectly, through rights of first refusal, all of the active mineral tenures in Iceland. It also explores for nickel on the Julie Nickel Project & for industrial minerals on Quebec’s North Shore and for lithium and rare metals in Northern Quebec and in the Abitibi region. Headquartered in Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SX, on the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

The release contains forwarding looking information and statements as defined by law including, without limitation, Canadian securities laws and the “safe harbor” provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“forward-looking statements”), respecting St-Georges’ plans to spin-out its subsidiary ZeU. which is intended to be listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements including that the spin-out may not be completed as planned or at all due to failure to obtain shareholder or regulatory approval ,the inability to complete the Acquisition, raise sufficient capital to adequately fund ZeU or a decision of the board of St-Georges not to proceed, which decision can be made at any time prior to closing. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including, without limitation, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of required approval and continued availability of capital and financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and St-Georges undertakes no obligation to update any of the foregoing except as required by law.

St-Georges’ $SX.ca $SXOOF subsidiary, #ZeU Crypto Networks, Appoints Chief Architect $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:24 PM on Thursday, May 24th, 2018

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  • Subsidiary ZeU Crypto Networks Inc. has appointed Oliver Qian as Chief Architect
  • While serving as Chief Architect at ZTE Corporation since 2011, Mr. Qian led the 3,000-person CTO development department that was responsible for Cloud Computing, Data Platform and Mobile Internet platform projects
  • Blockchain is now in use in ZTE’s supply chain financial services, as well as, Nanjing City for government certificate verification and exchange

Montreal, Quebec / May 24, 2018 – St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE: SX) (OTC: SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) is pleased to announce that its subsidiary ZeU Crypto Networks Inc. has appointed Oliver Qian as Chief Architect. While serving as Chief Architect at ZTE Corporation since 2011, Mr. Qian led the 3,000-person CTO development department that was responsible for Cloud Computing, Data Platform and Mobile Internet platform projects. During his tenure at ZTE he led the blockchain development team that implemented multi-chain smart contracts enabling two end users to use each other’s data without acquiring the data. The blockchain is now in use in ZTE’s supply chain financial services, as well as, Nanjing City for government certificate verification and exchange.

Prior to his tenure at ZTE, Mr. Qian served as a Director of Alibaba.com where he led a 200-person development team that was responsible for Alibaba’s technology platform. His key developments include the first generation of Alibaba’s distributed database middleware and a distributed micro service framework called Dubbo that was one of the most successful open source micro service frameworks in China.

Frank Dumas, President & Interim CEO of ZeU Crypto Networks stated “The appointment of Mr. Qian is a major first milestone for ZeU and serves as high level validation of both the quality of our blockchain technology and its capabilities. We look forward to watching him lead our current team of great developers towards building world class products.”

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

“Frank Dumas”

 

FRANK DUMAS, PRESIDENT & CEO

Medias & Regulators Only 514.295.9878

About St-Georges

St-Georges is developing new technologies to solve the some of the most common environmental problems in the mining industry.

The Company controls directly or indirectly, through rights of first refusal, all of the active mineral tenures in Iceland. It also explores for nickel on the Julie Nickel Project & for industrial minerals on Quebec’s North Shore and for lithium and rare metals in Northern Quebec and in the Abitibi region. Headquartered in Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SX, on the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

The release contains forwarding looking information and statements as defined by law including, without limitation, Canadian securities laws and the “safe harbor” provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“forward-looking statements”), respecting St-Georges’ plans to spin-out its subsidiary ZeU. which is intended to be listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements including that the spin-out may not be completed as planned or at all due to failure to obtain shareholder or regulatory approval ,the inability to complete the Acquisition, raise sufficient capital to adequately fund ZeU or a decision of the board of St-Georges not to proceed, which decision can be made at any time prior to closing. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including, without limitation, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of required approval and continued availability of capital and financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and St-Georges undertakes no obligation to update any of the foregoing except as required by law.

St-Georges Eco-Mining $SX.ca $SXOOF Announces Spin-Out of Subsidiary #ZeU Crypto Networks & Intellectual Property Acquisition Agreement Amendment with Tiande $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:18 PM on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018

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  • Intends to spin-out its subsidiary ZeU Crypto Networks Inc.,
    • intent of listing ZeU on the Canadian Securities Exchange
  • Transaction is being undertaken to focus the efforts of St-Georges on its core mining, metallurgical processes and commodities management technologies related activities,
    • Seeking to maximize shareholder value of the technologies to be acquired by ZeU by placing them in a separate public company

Montreal, QC / May 22, 2018 – St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE: SX) (OTC: SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) announces that it intends to spin-out its subsidiary ZeU Crypto Networks Inc., with the intent of listing ZeU on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The transaction is being undertaken to focus the efforts of St-Georges on its core mining, metallurgical processes and commodities management technologies related activities, while seeking to maximize shareholder value of the technologies to be acquired by ZeU by placing them in a separate public company. The spin-out will allow ZeU management to initiate and grow operations with no further restrictions.

Shareholders to receive one ZeU share for every 8 St-Georges shares.

It is proposed that the spin-out would be effected by way of a plan of arrangement (the “Arrangement”) which would see shareholders of St-Georges receive an aggregate of 11,249,825 shares of ZeU, representing one (1) share of ZeU for every eight (8) shares of St-Georges held, and St-Georges would retain 8,750,175, of the 20,000,000 shares of ZeU St-Georges currently owns. Additional information regarding distributions to shareholders will be disclosed by way of circular in the coming weeks.

Financing

ZeU is planning to complete an initial tranche of the previously announced debenture financing, prior to the spin-out, for up to an aggregate amount of $10 million dollars. The company won’t seek additional amounts within that proposed financing and will instead initiate a separate private placement in parallel to the Spin-Out transaction (“Concurrent Financing”) to be completed concurrently with the Arrangement by way of subscription receipt of ZeU (the “Subscription Receipts”) at a price of C$1,000 per Subscription Receipt. Upon closing of the Arrangement, each holder of Subscription Receipts will receive, for no additional consideration and subject to adjustment, one special warrant (the “Special Warrants”) that, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, shall be automatically exercised, for no additional consideration, to acquire $1,000 principal amount of 10% unsecured convertible debentures of ZeU (each, a “Convertible Debenture” and, collectively, the “Convertible Debentures”). Each Convertible Debenture shall be convertible into common shares of ZeU, as applicable, at a price of $1.00 per share, subject to adjustment in certain events.

Further details of the spin-out transaction, the Arrangement and the Concurrent Financing will be contained in the management information circular to be mailed to shareholders of St-Georges and filed on SEDAR in connection with the meeting of shareholders to be held to approve the transaction, currently contemplated to be held in July 2018. The Arrangement remains subject to approval by the shareholders of St-Georges, receipt of a final court order from the Superior Court of Quebec, and the approval of the listing of ZeU by the Canadian Securities Exchange. Notwithstanding the receipt of all requisite approvals, the directors of St-Georges reserve the right to elect to not to proceed with the Arrangement.

Amendment to Tiande Assets Acquisition Agreement

St-Georges also wishes to inform that, further to its February 26, 2018 press releases, ZeU has signed an agreement amending (the “Amending Agreement”) certain terms and conditions of its definitive asset purchase agreement dated February 23, 2018 with Qingdao Tiande Technologies Limited (“Qingdao”) and Beijing Tiande Technologies Limited (“Beijing” and together with Qingdao, the “Vendors”) with the intervention of Guiyang Tiande Technologies Limited to purchase substantially all the intellectual property of the Vendors (the “Acquisition”).

The purpose of the Amending Agreement is to eliminate uncertainties related to the closing of the Acquisition, expedite the Arrangement, which will allow ZeU to fully commit to the development of the Vendors’ Blockchain Technology, and facilitate the Concurrent Financing.

The material terms of the Amending Agreement are the removal of the minimum $10,000,000 concurrent financing condition, and the reorganization of the purchase price to provide for: (i) the delivery on the closing date, which will now occur concurrently with the completion of the Arrangement, to Vendors of 30,000,000 common shares of ZeU and 75,000,000 common share purchase warrants of ZeU exercisable at of $1.00 for a period of three years (3 years) following the listing of ZeU on a recognize stock exchange; (ii) the delivery, to the extent and only if all of the Milestone Conditions (please see February 26, 2018 press releases for details) are satisfied, an additional 45,000,000 common shares of ZeU; and (iii) the delivery, to the extent and only if the Patent Condition (please see February 26, 2018 press releases for details) is satisfied, of a final 75,000,000 common shares of ZeU.

The Acquisition remains subject to requisite regulatory approval and satisfaction of closing conditions contained in the agreement, including completion of the Arrangement.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

“Frank Dumas”

FRANK DUMAS, PRESIDENT & CEO

Medias and Regulators Only: 514.295.9878

About St-Georges

St-Georges is developing new technologies to solve the some of the most common environmental problems in the mining industry.

The Company controls directly or indirectly, through rights of first refusal, all of the active mineral tenures in Iceland. It also explores for nickel on the Julie Nickel Project & for industrial minerals on Quebec’s North Shore and for lithium and rare metals in Northern Quebec and in the Abitibi region. Headquartered in Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SX, on the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

The release contains forwarding looking information and statements as defined by law including, without limitation, Canadian securities laws and the “safe harbor” provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“forward-looking statements”), respecting St-Georges’ plans to spin-out its subsidiary ZeU. which is intended to be listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements including that the spin-out may not be completed as planned or at all due to failure to obtain shareholder or regulatory approval ,the inability to complete the Acquisition, raise sufficient capital to adequately fund Zeu or a decision of the board of St-Georges not to proceed, which decision can be made at any time prior to closing. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including, without limitation, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of required approval and continued availability of capital and financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and St-Georges undertakes no obligation to update any of the foregoing except as required by law.

HTC’s new phone is all about the #blockchain $SX $SX.ca $IDK.ca #Blockstation $AAO.ca $HPQ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:25 AM on Wednesday, May 16th, 2018

  • There’s no doubt about it: “Blockchain” is the biggest tech buzzword of today, the equivalent of “web 2.0” at its heyday a decade ago, and naturally, everyone wants in.
  • Latest company to join the blockchain party is HTC, who has announced the HTC Exodus, a smartphone that fully embraces blockchain technology

Blockchain is a crucial technology that underlies Bitcoin. It’s a decentralized, cryptographically secured database that’s near-impossible to tamper with, which makes it great for securely storing financial transactions data. But after Ethereum expanded on Bitcoin’s original idea, letting anyone run fully fledged apps on the blockchain, we’ve seen everyone jump on the bandwagon, from photography companies to burger chains.

So is HTC just riding the hype without much substance? Not necessarily.

On a teaser website, HTC says the phone will be “dedicated to decentralized applications and security.” The company lists several ways in which the Exodus phone will do this: For example, it will support decentralized applications (Dapps) and it will have a hardware element that will connect to cryptocurrency wallets. Both of these are doable: There’s already a phone called Sikur that focuses on security and has a built-in cryptocurrency wallet, and Sirin labs has announced its cryptocurrency-oriented Finney phone in May.

HTC also claims that every Exodus phone will be a node — a vital part of Bitcoin and Ethereum’s architecture, which broadcasts messages across the network. “We want to double and triple the number of nodes of Ethereum and Bitcoin,” HTC’s site says. The idea is interesting, but running a node eats up processing power, storage and bandwidth. It’s already possible to run a Bitcoin or an Ethereum node on a smartphone, but optimizing this for the mass market is not trivial.

There’s no word on the phone’s specs, though things like camera performance would likely be secondary to the phone’s utility as a blockchain-friendly device.

For this project, HTC has assembled a team led by Phil Chen, who was one of the architects behind the Barnes & Noble Nook, as well as a long-time product manager at HTC.

There’s no word on the price, either, but you can already reserve the phone by giving up your email, here.

Source: https://mashable.com/2018/05/16/htc-exodus/#0KD87U04piq2

JPMorgan $JPM National Bank of Canada $NA.ca others test debt issuance on #blockchain $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:24 AM on Friday, April 20th, 2018
  • The platform was built over more than a year using Quorum, a type of open-source blockchain that JPMorgan has developed inhouse.
  • Banks have poured millions of dollars to develop blockchain to streamline processes ranging from cross-border payments to securities settlement.
  • JPMorgan is considering spinning off Quorum because the technology has attracted significant outside interest.

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Pedestrians cross a foot bridge towards the offices of global financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the commercial office block No. 1 Canada Square, in the Canary Wharf financial, shopping and business district in London, U.K.

J. P. Morgan Chase & Co has tested a new blockchain platform for issuing financial instruments with the National Bank of Canada and other large firms, they said on Friday, seeking to streamline origination, settlement, interest rate payments and other processes.

The test on Wednesday mirrored the Canadian bank’s $150 million offering on the same day of a one-year floating-rate Yankee certificate of deposit, they said in a statement. The platform was built over more than a year using Quorum, a type of open-source blockchain that JPMorgan has developed inhouse and is in discussions to spin off.

Participants in the experiment included Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the fund management arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Pfizer Inc and Legg Mason Inc’s Western Asset and other investors in the certificate of deposit.

Banks have poured millions of dollars to develop blockchain, the software first created to run cryptocurrency bitcoin, to streamline processes ranging from cross-border payments to securities settlement.

“Blockchain-related technologies have the potential to bring about major change in the financial services industry,” David Furlong, senior vice president of artificial intelligence, venture capital and blockchain at National Bank of Canada, said in a statement.

JPMorgan is considering spinning off Quorum because the technology has attracted significant outside interest, Umar Farooq, head of blockchain initiatives for JPMorgan’s corporate and investment bank said in an interview.

He said it was taking too much time to field requests for help from users at other companies.

Charging for assistance is not an option because software support is not the bank’s business, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The spin-off discussions are in the early stages and the bank has received interest from financial institutions and large enterprise technology companies, Farooq added. He declined to name the companies.

JPMorgan plans to beef up the Quorum team with dozens of engineers from the bank’s other divisions who have become familiar with the technology, he said.

Blockchain is in the early stages of development in the financial industry, but JPMorgan is optimistic about its potential, Farooq said.

“We haven’t really seen a lot of really large scale things go into production yet. There are few cases where blockchain can really shine.”

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/20/jpmorgan-national-bank-of-canada-others-test-debt-issuance-on-blockchain.html

Former Goldman Sachs $GS VP Joins #Crypto Wallet #Blockchain To Attract Institutional Clients $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca #Blockstation #Earnings

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, April 17th, 2018
  • Crypto wallet Blockchain.com has hired former Goldman Sachs executive Breanne Madigan as the head of institutional sales and strategy
  • Madigan had worked at Goldman Sachs from 2003 to 2017 as an associate, vice president, and finally as the head of institutional wealth services, a department that managed $1.49 trln worth of total assets in 2017, CNBC reports.

Blockchain.com, which has 24 mln active wallets according to CNBC, added a buy and sell feature for Bitcoin (BTC) – with Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) promised soon after – in 22 US states in mid-January of this year.

Peter Smith, the CEO of Blockchain.com, said in a statement that “Breanne has a proven track record of adding value to her teams and her clients,” continuing:

“As Blockchain continues to grow its institutional presence, I can think of no one better to help scale our business.”

In what seems to be a growing trend of former Wall Street talent and money moving to the crypto sphere, a report circulated last week that Goldman Sachs executive Richard Kim would be hired as the new chief operating officer of a crypto merchant bank founded and run by former Wall Street executive Mike Novogratz. A little more than a week ago, George Soros’s Fund Management has been reported to soon begin trading in crypto, and the Rockefeller’s venture capital arm formed a partnership with a crypto investment group to support Blockchain and crypto innovation.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-goldman-sachs-vp-joins-crypto-wallet-blockchain-to-attract-institutional-clients

Santander $SAN launches a #blockchain – based foreign exchange service that uses #Ripple’s technology $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HIVE.ca $CODE.ca $BLOC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:53 PM on Thursday, April 12th, 2018
  • The service, called Santander One Pay FX, uses technology developed by blockchain firm Ripple.
  • Santander’s blockchain-powered foreign exchange platform is currently live in Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Poland.
  • Ripple has struck partnerships with multiple banks and other financial institutions, including Santander.

Published 4 Hours Ago CNBC.com

Jonathan Nicholson | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Santander has launched a foreign exchange service that uses blockchain technology to make same-day international money transfers.

The service, called Santander One Pay FX, uses tech developed by blockchain firm Ripple. Santander said it is the first cross-border payments service using blockchain to be made by a bank.

Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is a decentralized network that records a growing list of transactions. It was originally used as the technology to underpin bitcoin but banks have become increasingly interested in other use cases, like clearing and settling payments.

Santander’s blockchain-powered foreign exchange platform is currently live in four different countries — Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Poland. A wider roll-out is expected in coming months, the bank said.

Innoventures, a $200 million fintech, or financial technology, venture capital fund set up by Santander, was one of a number of investors to participate in Ripple’s first round of funding in 2015.

Ripple has struck partnerships with multiple banks and other financial institutions, including Santander. Banks are less keen to use the firm’s digital currency XRP, but earlier this year two money transfer firms, MoneyGram and Western Union, announced projects involving the cryptocurrency.

On Wednesday, Ripple invested $25 million into a fund started by Blockchain Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to blockchain.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/12/santander-launches-blockchain-based-foreign-exchange-using-ripple-tech.html

China And #Blockchain: Most Patents And More Governmental Funds $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:20 AM on Wednesday, April 11th, 2018
  • China already has the largest number of Blockchain patents in the world, beating global economies such as the US and Japan.
  • Moreover, the Chinese government has just funded another $1.6 bln Blockchain fund to finance more projects in the cryptocurrency space

Chinese government funds $1.6 bln Blockchain Initiative

On April 9, Chinese publication Sohu reported that the government of Hangzhou has decided to invest more than $400 mln in a Hangzhou-based venture capital firm known as Tunlan Investment, to facilitate the growth of Blockchain startups and projects.

Tunlan Investment, in cooperation with the Chinese government launched the Blockchain Industrial Park in Hangzhou, in an effort to spend over $1.6 bln on Blockchain projects, 30 percent of which will be funded by the local government. The initiative has already attracted advisors such as Zhenfund founder Xu Xiaoping, who has invested in projects like the Ethereum-based content distribution platform Steem and Lino.

The funding of the Blockchain Industrial Park in Hangzhou is the latest effort by the Chinese government to fund and grow Blockchain projects.

In Sept. 2017, the Chinese government imposed a complete ban on cryptocurrency trading and investment, terminating the relationship between financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, and requesting local exchanges to move out of the country after seizing their services.

Consequently, Huobi and OKCoin rebranded to Huobi Pro and OKEx, as they relocated to Hong Kong. In April the two exchanges, which were formerly the two largest cryptocurrency exchanges in China prior to the cryptocurrency trading ban, expanded into South Korea, a market that has been rapidly growing over the past six months.

The recent initiative introduced by the Chinese government to finance Blockchain projects within China directly contradicts its decision to ban cryptocurrency trading seven months ago. At the time, the Chinese government stated that it considers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as a threat to the central bank and the current financial system of China.

People’s Bank of China (PBoC) researcher and Central University of Finance and Economics professor Huang Zhen explained:

“The sovereign state is still the fundamental player in global politics, and carries with it the characteristics of the world financial system. Cryptocurrencies and other virtual currencies attempt to challenge the sovereign state’s right to issue currency, requiring the nationalization of currency issuance. China has a clear understanding of digital forms of money, and is actively engaging in relevant work. The central bank has set up a research group and a digital money research institute to explore the digitization of sovereign money.”

China is positive towards Blockchain technology

Despite the government’s acknowledgement of decentralized cryptocurrencies as a threat to its financial and monetary system, the Chinese government is leading efforts to fund local Blockchain projects because they have embraced the technology behind Bitcoin. The Chinese government emphasized on several occasions that Blockchain technology has potential to disrupt the global financial structure.

A recent paper released by state-owned newspaper The People’s Daily noted:

“The mainstream Blockchain technology platforms all originated from abroad. The domestic Blockchain technology service providers should patiently start from the ground floor to make technologies independent and controllable, and strive to lead global Blockchain technology development.”

Over the past year, the Chinese government has followed the roadmap by allowing domestic Blockchain projects to start from the ground floor to commercialize the Blockchain. This positive stance towards Blockchain technology also explains the recent effort by the government of Hangzhou to provide $400 mln to Blockchain projects.

Patents

According to Thomson Reuters and the World Intellectual Patent Organization, China has about 400 Blockchain-related patents, which it has garnered within the past two years. The US and Australia have the second largest number of blockchain patents with 110 and 40 respectively.

As Cointelegraph reported on April 1, Chinese companies have been utilizing Blockchain technology to lead pilot tests and process data in real-time and in a decentralized manner. AliPay and TencentPay, two of the biggest FinTech applications in China, have expressed their optimism towards implementing Blockchain-based payment systems, and some insurance companies have already started to use Blockchain.

JD.com, a major Chinese retailer is currently using Blockchain technology to track the shipping of domestic and international beef products, and insurance firm ZhongAn have been utilizing Blockchain-based systems to trace and monitor the life cycles of poultry.

“[JD.com plans to] partner with innovative Blockchain startups to build new businesses and create and test real-world applications of their technologies at scale. We are excited to work with some of the world’s most innovative startups to explore ways we can scale these cutting edge technologies for the future of retail and other industries, as well,” said JD.com in a statement.

The Chinese government is undergoing a learning curve. It has acknowledged that the Blockchain is a disruptive technology that could revolutionize a wide range of industries including finance. The government’s positive viewpoint towards Blockchain technology could potentially lead to friendlier cryptocurrency regulations.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-and-blockchain-most-patents-and-more-governmental-funds