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UK firms join Linux Foundation in blockchain technology collaboration

Business meeting

Two UK companies have joined the Linux Foundation in a new collaborative effort to advance developments in blockchain technology.

London Stock Exchange Group and Isle of Man-based Credits join ANZ Bank, Cisco, CLS, Digital Asset Holdings, Fujitsu, IC3, IBM, Intel, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, State Street, SWIFT, VMware and Wells Fargo in the initiative.

The aim of the group is to create an enterprise-grade, open-source distributed ledger framework that will enable developers to build industry-specific products and applications to support business transactions around the world.

“Distributed ledgers are poised to transform a wide range of industries from banking and shipping to the Internet of Things, among others,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation, a nonprofit trade association that promotes open-source development.

“As with any early-stage, highly-complex technology that demonstrates the ability to change the way we live our lives and conduct business, blockchain demands a cross-industry, open source collaboration to advance the technology for all,” he added.

UK participants

Credits, founded in 2014, is an interoperable blockchain platform built from the ground up.

“Distributed ledger technology is quickly becoming the most exciting industry to help build out,” said Credits CEO and founder, Nick Williamson.

“It’s initiatives like the open ledger project that will help cut through the noise stemming from the hype cycle and start bringing substance to this nascent industry,” he added.

Earlier this year, Credits worked with the Isle of Man government to develop a blockchain-based registry of digital currency companies operating on the island.

This also isn’t the London Stock Exchange’s first foray into the blockchain space. Back in November, Financial News reported that the London Stock Exchange had joined with a number of banks, exchanges and clearing houses to examine how blockchain technology could be used to transform the way securities trades are cleared, settled and reported.

Other companies involved in this initiative include CME Group, Euroclear, LCH.Clearnet, Société Générale and UBS.

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