IBM opens blockchain lab

IBM, together with the non-profit organization Innovate Finance, plans to conduct a study of the potential of Blockchain technology in order to develop new methods of doing business in modern conditions. Based on this technology, the Bitcoin cryptocurrency system was created, which has been successfully operating for several years. Cryptocurrency has now become a recognized means of payment, a virtual currency that is accepted by large and small enterprises, corporations and services.

Now IBM plans to explore additional features of Blockchain, using its own computational and analytical capabilities. The technology in question is now attracting the attention of banks and financial structures that are studying Blockchain in order to implement new projects.

Representatives of Innovate Finance have already announced that project partners will be able to access high-performance computer systems located in the Hartree data center. About the Blockchain technology itself, it can be said that it provides tracking of the movement of cryptocurrency from one wallet to another. But the same technology can be used for other purposes. “Blockchain, as a technology, is very interesting and promising,” said Arvind Krishna, vice president of IBM Research.
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Laurence Wintmeyer, General Director of Innovate Finance, stated that if the development of new standards and technologies based on blockchain will be carried out efficiently, the widespread implementation of blockchain, including the use of technology in banks, financial structures and payment services, will soon be possible.

Why all this?

IBM representatives believe that bitcoin could become the “cash of the future.” Currently, the corporation is working on creating open-source software with which partners can enter into digital contracts, which will be recorded in the global network. Over the past year, researchers from IBM have developed their own version of blockchain, the capabilities of which are being tested for the above purpose. In practice, it may look like this. For example, the Chinese supplier and buyer from the United States agree to conduct the transaction, and the Bank of the United States, in which the buyer’s account is opened, conducts payment to the supplier via the Internet.

Also in January, IBM led an experiment called Adept. Its goal is to track devices connected to the Network using all the same blockchain technology.

In the laboratory, the project team will work on creating payment applications, ways to combat illegal methods of using cryptocurrencies, etc.

“I would like to expand banking services to the 3.2 billion people who will become middle class in the next 15 years. Therefore, I would like to reduce the cost of accounting services. And Blockchain has all the possibilities for this, ”commented the prospects of the Arvind Krishna project.