IBM Japan and the online securities business SBI SECURITIES are moving ahead with experiments looking at how Bitcoin ’s underlying technology can be used in creating a new type of bond trading system, in a move that highlights how serious the global players are about the technology.
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SBI SECURITIES will try to work out how it can adapt the Blockchain technology to allow consumers and suppliers in the bond trading realm to connect directly through online networks, removing the need for middlemen.
The largest Japanese online securities company in terms of total account numbers will tap IBM’s capabilities and infrastructure including IBM Bluemix Garage for Blockchain in Tokyo, IBM Consulting Services and IBM Research expertise in Japan.
As part of the experiment, the bond trading trial will test the entire product cycle of registering a bond until its reimbursement and how to use sharing databases to facilitate and accelerate the contract management process. In addition, SBI SECURITIES will check the potential of reducing infrastructure costs by sharing among the parties involved and finally the evaluation of how the technology can enable organizations to operate both faster and more cheaply by substituting some existing operations and automating complex processes.
Hiroyuki Ogawa, Executive Officer at SBI SECURITIES, said: "This test aims to scrutinize barriers or complexity for practical use, develop a plan for deployment, and accumulate knowledge through applying blockchain technology to our products. Adopting the Hyperledger Fabric, an open technology platform, and working together with IBM Japan, the leader in this area, we expect that this verification test will speed the rate of adoption of blockchain technology in the financial trading area."
Takeshi Fukuda, Director at IBM Research - Tokyo, added: "As an innovative technology, blockchain has the potential to revolutionize ways businesses work together with their ecosystem of trading partners. The technology establishes accountability and transparency while streamlining business processes."
"IBM is driving an open source, open standards blockchain fabric and community through the Hyperledger Project, and leverages this technology to transform businesses in various industries. We are delighted to work with SBI SECURITIES to create innovative solutions for financial industry,” Fukuda concluded.
