JPMorgan Becomes Latest Bank to Leave R3 Amidst Fundraising Talks

R3, a Blockchain technology company that currently leads a consortium of eighty financial groups, has seen the departure of its second big name lender in the past six months, with JPMorgan Chase & Co leaving the group to pursue a divergent technology path, according to a recent Reuters report.

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The R3 consortium focuses on blockchain usage in the global financial system. A panel of more than seventy institutions engage in joint research and development opportunities, helping push the technology into new avenues of finance.

The departure of JPMorgan is the latest blow to the group as yet another company distances itself from R3’s fundraising process. Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander and Morgan Stanley all left the group recently, ultimately following on the heels of R3’s ambitious fundraising initiative of up to $150.0 million from members and investors.

Like its banking counterparts, JPMorgan will still pursue blockchain research and other initiatives. It recently enlisted with the blockchain consortium Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Moreover, the bank is also an investor in blockchain startups Axoni and Digital Asset Holdings, participating in the Hyperledger Project.

R3's fundraising process has been met with scepticism. R3 initially planned to raise a total of $200.0 million from members, giving them a 90 percent stake in a new company. However late last year, the group lowered the target to 60 percent with a target of $150.0 million.