IBM opens blockchain lab



    IBM Corporation, together with the non-profit organization Innovate Finance, plans to study the potential of Blockchain technology in order to develop new business methods in modern conditions. Based on this technology, a Bitcoin cryptocurrency system was created that has been successfully functioning for several years. Cryptocurrency has now become a recognized means of payment, a virtual monetary unit that is accepted by large and small enterprises, corporations and services.

    Now, IBM plans to explore additional Blockchain capabilities by leveraging its own computing and analytical capabilities. The technology in question is now attracting the attention of banks and financial institutions that are studying Blockchain in order to implement new projects.

    Representatives of Innovate Finance have already reported that the project partners will be able to access high-performance computer systems located in the Hartree computing center. We can say about Blockchain technology itself that it provides tracking of the movement of cryptocurrency from one wallet to another. But the same technology can be used for other purposes. “Blockchain, as a technology, is very interesting and promising,” said Arvind Krishna, vice president of IBM Research.

    Innovate Finance CEO Lawrence Wintmeyer said that if the development of new standards and technologies based on blockchain is carried out efficiently, widespread implementation of blockchain will soon become possible, including the use of technology in banks, financial institutions, and payment services.

    Why all this?


    Representatives of IBM believe that bitcoin may become "cash of the future." Currently, the corporation is working on the creation of open-source software, with which partners will be able to enter into digital contracts that will be recorded in the global network. Over the past year, IBM researchers have developed their own version of the blockchain, the capabilities of which are tested for the above purpose. In practice, this may look as follows. For example, a Chinese supplier and a buyer from the United States agree to conduct a transaction, and the US bank, in which the buyer’s account is open, pays the provider via the Internet.

    Also in January, IBM conducted an experiment called Adept. Its goal is to track devices connected to the Network using the same blockchain technology.

    In the laboratory itself, the project team will work on creating payment applications, ways to combat illegal methods of using cryptocurrencies, etc.

    “I would like to expand banking services to those 3.2 billion people who will become the middle class in the next 15 years. Therefore, I would like to reduce the cost of accounting services. And Blockchain has every opportunity for this, ”commented Arvind Krishna on the project’s prospects.

    Also popular now: