The Bank of England (BOE) is seeking a “proof of concept” for a wallet that will be able to hold a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). On Dec. 9, the BOE posted a request for applications on the United Kingdom government's Digital Marketplace, a service where government organizations can solicit work for digital projects. Simple guidelines for what the proof-of-concept wallet would have to achieve were outlined, with the wallet seemingly only needing to offer basic functionality such as a signup process, a way to update details, and show balances and transactions amongst other requirements such as displaying notifications. Of …

Early in 2021, markets for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) started to gain some notoriety, and by the end of March 2021, this new market for digital assets had a total lifetime traded volume of about $550 million. Any digital asset can be an NFT including collectibles, artwork, video game characters, virtual world objects and digitized sports. A blockchain, often one on the Ethereum network, is where an NFT’s ownership is recorded. However, the sale of this digital asset will result in ownership transfers and the blockchain recording of the crypto payment received. This isn’t to say that NFTs and cryptocurrencies are …

The functionality of a blockchain’s utility token extends beyond its monetary value. These tokens often serve as the primary incentivization mechanism for validators to keep the network running and stakeholders to participate in decentralized governance. As such, network participants would prefer to store their tokens in a secure environment – preferably devoid of any third parties. Dock, a platform that helps businesses and developers issue and verify credentials on the blockchain, has launched its own mobile wallet. The Dock Wallet – available on the App Store and Play Store – will let token holders store, send, receive and manage Dock …

A report presented to Sri Lankan central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Monday detailed the results of a now-completed Know-Your-Customer, or KYC, proof-of-concept project. The project Sri Lanka's central bank, also known as the CBSL, included 3 collaborators who developed the Blockchain-based KYC platform concept. The KYC platform was also tested by the CBSL and 10 regional and international commercial banks, including Amana Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Cargills Bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Bank, Hatton National Bank, HSBC, National Development Bank, People’s Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The team initiated the project in July 2019, and completed development …

China Construction Bank, the world’s second-largest bank by assets, is cooperating with Malaysian and Singaporean partners to test blockchain technology for use in the bond market. As previously reported, China Construction Bank’s branch in Labuan, Malaysia, had initially pursued a partnership with a Labuan-based fintech firm to issue what was hailed as prospectively the first-ever blockchain-based digital security to be issued by a Chinese financial institution. CCB Labuan’s plan had been to use the Ethereum blockchain to issue bonds and raise up to $3 billion in total, starting with a tranche of $58 million, from both individuals and institutions. Within …

In the enterprise realm, blockchain has moved from an experimental toy to a top-five strategic priority. As a technology that can improve security and coordination both within and between enterprises, it is now seen as an important path to digitalization — particularly in an increasingly data-centric business world. However, while high levels of investment into enterprise blockchain projects have been sustained over the last three years, the stark reality is that the vast majority still never make it beyond proof-of-concept. In fact, as few as 5% make it to production and, according to global research and advisory firm Gartner, 90% …

A group of 10 major global oil and gas firms including heavy-hitters like Chevron and Shell has successfully digitized industry balloting using blockchain. The Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium (OOC) successfully piloted a blockchain-based system for Authorization for Expenditure (AFE) balloting in partnership with Canadian technology provider GuildOne. According to an announcement on Dec. 18, the AFE balloting proof-of-concept (PoC) is the first initiative of its kind and intends to allow participants to send ballots and make elections digitally using blockchain technology. Digitizing conventional paper-based processes As noted in the report, AFEs are used in the oil and gas industry …

German securities marketplace Deutsche Boerse and Swiss state-run telecom Swisscom have settled securities transactions using different blockchain protocols. In a joint proof-of-concept (PoC) involving a number of banks, the participants exchanged money in the form of cash tokens against tokenized shares, Deutsche Börse officially announced on Nov. 19. Based on blockchain technology, the joint PoC intends to show the potential of new technologies in the financial services sector and maintain Germany and Switzerland’s expertise in the digital asset ecosystem. Three major Swiss banks participated in the PoC The PoC involved major Swiss banks, including the fourth-largest Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank, …

A United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) advisory committee is planning to launch a live test of its blockchain-based intellectual property rights proof of concept. The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) will run its tests from late August to late September, per a report published on the CBP’s website. The COAC advises the Secretaries of the Department of the Treasury and Department of Homeland Security. The announcement specifically comes by way of COAC’s Next Generation Facilitation Subcommittee, an entity comprised of four working groups that aim to improve trade and government within the CBP. Currently, the subcommittee is …

Samsung SDS, Dutch bank ABN AMRO and the Port of Rotterdam have jointly conducted a proof-of-concept (PoC) shipment from South Korea to the Netherlands in which they tracked a container exclusively using an interoperable blockchain platform, according to a report by The Maritime Executive on July 1. According to the announcement, the container was tracked via the blockchain platform “DELIVER,” which allowed for the shipment to be instantly financed, fully tracked, and conducted paperlessly. According to Port of Rotterdam CFO Paul Smits, the traditional process of shipping is usually paper-heavy and inefficient: “Currently payments, administration and the physical transportation of …

The non-custodial crypto wallet solution ZenGo has created an open source project that purportedly provides proof-of-concept (PoC) for its ability to support social media giant Facebook’s virtual currency Libra, according to an official announcement by ZenGo on July 2. According to the announcement, this proof-of-concept project shows that it is possible to perform Libra transactions on the Libra testnet blockchain. However, the findings are limited, as the report cautions: “Obviously, this experiment is only based on a testnet and we will have to explore further once Libra makes its mainnet available. Additionally, there is no user interface in this PoC …

The Rhode Island Department of Administration/Division of Purchase in the United States has issued a public solicitation for blockchain solutions via proof-of-concept proposals, according to official documentation published on May 31. The department is particularly seeking proposals from “qualified firms” that aim to “further the State’s goal of becoming more efficient, transparent, accurate, secure and business-friendly.” The deadline for submissions is set for June 21. The solicitation notice includes a plethora of areas these blockchain solutions could aim to cover, including licensing, antifraud, contracts, medical marijuana, and crowdsourcing — but emphasizes several times that the nature of project proposals left …