Dutch Central Bank Wants a Blockchain Development Hub for Banks

As financial institutions and other major corporations race to adopt Blockchain technology with new claims of breakthroughs every day, national regulators and economic establishments want to make sure that their countries do not get left behind by this revolution.

The Netherlands' "fintech ambassador" Willem Vermeend has revealed that the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, is backing the creation of a new blockchain technology innovation hub. Expected to open in September, the "blockchain development campus" will bring together Dutch banks so they can collaborate on the creation of new solutions.

“There is a lot of creativity in the Netherlands," commented Vermeend. "The problem is that I have spoken to twenty parties who do not know what each other is doing."

Private Initiative

Dutch banks have not been waiting for the government to lead the way and have taken action to advance blockchain adoption before. For example, back in April Rabobank announced a synergy with Nexuslab – part of Nexussquared based in Zurich – for its blockchain startup program in collaboration with Startupbootcamp FinTech.

Rabobank, the Netherlands-based financial institution which provides investment banking services including institutional foreign exchange and related asset classes to international clients, is looking at blockchain technology as applicable for four fields, namely, international Payments , micropayments via the Internet of Things (IoT), conditional payments, and smart contracts.