The Russian Ministry of Transport is reportedly planning to trial blockchain shipping solution TradeLens developed by IBM and Maersk, Russian financial media Kommersant reported on Tuesday, Feb. 26 Kommersant received a copy of an official letter addressed to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov, who is oversees transport policy. According to the document, the Ministry of Transport and its subsidiary will sign a memorandum of understanding with Maersk to launch a pilot of TradeLens in Russia’s second largest port, the Big port of St. Petersburg. As per the letter, the officials expect TradeLens to reduce paperwork by using smart contracts …

The vice president of blockchain and digital currencies for IBM, Jesse Lund, said that he expects Bitcoin’s (BTC) price to eventually hit $1 million. Lund made his prediction during an interview with comparison and news platform Finder.com, published on YouTube on Feb. 20. Towards the end of the interview, Lund was asked what he expects the price of Bitcoin to be on this new year’s eve. He answered that he thinks it is going to be higher than the current price, clarifying, “I’ll go with $5,000.” He then continued his prediction, adding: “I see Bitcoin at a million dollars someday.” …

The evolving relationship between blockchain tech and the health sector has already been thoroughly documented, yet something that's received less attention is the increasing role blockchains are set to have in the health insurance industry. This industry was worth over $600 billion in 2017 in the United States alone, while calculations suggest that as much as $375 billion is wasted every year by American insurance companies as a result of the paperwork and administrative box-ticking that comes with having a multi-payer health care system. There is, therefore, a massive opportunity for blockchain-related companies and platforms to not only claim a …

Hyundai Commercial — a financial services subsidiary of leading South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai — has announced a partnership with American tech giant IBM to modernize its business model using blockchain. The news was announced on Feb. 13 at IBM’s annual tech and business conference “IBM Think 2019” in San Francisco, California. Hyundai Commercial is reportedly “a corporate finance company that provides leasing and financial services for commercial vehicles and construction equipment.” The partnership with IBM will focus on using open source Hyperledger Fabric blockchain technology to create a new supply chain financing ecosystem for the Hyundai Commercial network. Network …

One of Europe’s largest banks, Banco Santander, and tech giant IBM have announced an agreement to accelerate the bank’s development of technologies such as blockchain. The news was announced in a press release published on Feb. 13. The five-year global technology agreement is reportedly aimed at enhancing the financial institution’s services using emerging technologies — such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and big data — provided by IBM. The deal between IBM and the largest financial and credit group in Spain is reportedly valued at approximately $700 million. The move aims to reduce the bank’s annual costs on IT spending and …

The IT arm of South Korean tech giant Samsung announced it had developed technology to speed up blockchain transactions, the company confirmed in a press release on Feb 14. Presenting at the ongoing IBM Think 2019 conference in San Francisco, Samsung SDS said its new technology, Nexledger Accelerator, had already passed testing with Hyperledger Fabric. “In order to improve transaction processing speed, which is a key consideration in applying blockchain technology, Samsung SDS has developed its own Nexledger Accelerator, which can be applied to Hyperledger Fabric,” the press release explained: “Samsung SDS tested the Nexledger Accelerator in Hyperledger Fabric last …

The Canadian unit of American tech giant IBM has partnered with pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim to deploy blockchain in clinical recordkeeping, according to a press release published on Feb. 12. The cooperation between the two companies aims to test whether the integration of blockchain technology with clinical recordkeeping provides the proper level of data integrity, transparency, and patient safety, in addition to reducing costs and automating processes. Dr. Uli Broedl, Vice President, Medical and Regulatory Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) said, “The clinical trial ecosystem is highly complex as it involves different stakeholders, resulting in limited trust, transparency and process inefficiencies …

IBM has released its blockchain main net out of its data center located in Melbourne, Australia. This will purportedly allow their customers to run their applications on the company's cloud, according to an article published on news outlet ZDNet on Feb 11. The IBM platform was built on Hyperledger Fabric. Hyperledger is a project that aims to improve cross-industry blockchain technologies that is hosted by the Linux Foundation. A Sydney-based IBM data center is reportedly set to open at the end of March, joining the other centers in Tokyo, London, Dallas, São Paulo, and Toronto. The head of blockchain for …

A collaborative IBM project using blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) to tackle drought is underway in the United States state of California, according to a press release published Feb. 8. IBM Research and sensor tech provider SweetSense have reportedly partnered with non-profit organization The Freshwater Trust (TFT) and the University of Colorado Boulder to use blockchain and IoT technology to sustainably manage groundwater use in what they describe as “one of the largest and most at risk aquifers in North America” — located in northern California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing …

IBM is continuing its foray into blockchain trade management, completing a new trial which shipped 108,000 mandarin oranges to Singapore, a press release confirmed on Jan. 31. IBM, which is focusing on speeding up efficiency in multiple trade environments, used the technology to reduce paperwork handling and costs for the shipment, which originated in China. Singapore is importing a significant quantity of mandarins ahead of the lunar new year. Transit was handled by Pacific International Lines (PIL) using an electronic version of the Bill of Lading (e-BL), an essential trade document, processed on the blockchain. “A blockchain-based trade network will …

Swiss-headquartered food retail giant Nestle S.A. says that the blockchain-based IBM Food Trust initiative — which counts major global retailers such as Walmart and Unilever as members— is gearing up to onboard new suppliers and retailers this year. Benjamin Dubois, digital transformation manager of global supply chain at Nestle, spoke of the development in an interview with Swiss regional bilingual daily newspaper 24 heures on Jan. 28. As reported, the IBM Food Trust blockchain has been underway since fall 2016, with the first product trials spearheaded by Walmart in China in December 2016. Nestle, for its part, has been engaged …

United States-based health insurance giant Aetna has partnered with IBM to create a blockchain network tailored to the healthcare industry, Reuters reported Jan. 24. Estimated to serve over 39 million clients globally, Aetna has reportedly issued a joint statement with IBM clarifying that the blockchain system will be designed to streamline insurance claims processing and payments, as well as manage directories. The insurance giant also recently merged with retail pharmacy and healthcare firm CVS Health Corp. Alongside American financial services firm PNC Bank, two other health insurers — which count over 55 million members combined — have also reportedly joined …