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BNP Paribas Confirms Belief in Distributed Ledger Technology For Financial Purposes

Jp Buntinx · @http://twitter.com/jdebunt | Feb 02, 2016 | 10:42

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BNP Paribas has been working on blockchain technology for quite some time now, and its efforts went well beyond an in-house development team. Just a few days ago, their very first blockchain Bizhackathon took place, with the sole purpose of finding use cases for distributed ledger technology in the banking world.

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The BNP Paribas Blockchain Bizhackathon

Even though it is crystal clear for anyone in the world of Bitcoin and blockchain technology to see why distributed ledgers are a powerful tool for the financial sector, coming up with the right uses is a key element in making these efforts succeed. BNP Paribas has confirmed their commitment to using this technology now that their Blockchain Bizhackathon has concluded.

There are various aspects of finance that can benefit from distributed ledger technology, but BNP Paribas’ hackathon focused on two important segments. Both trade finance and cash management are the main sectors that need a technological overhaul in the eyes of BNP Paribas’ Corporate Trade and Treasury Solutions team.

As one would come to expect from such a hackathon event, there was a lot of interest from developers and entrepreneurs who want to explore the boundaries of distributed ledger technology. In total, over 70 participants gathered to create proper use cases for this technology, while also helping BNP Paribas provide optimal services.

BNP Paribas Head of Corporate Trade and Treasury Solutions Marc Carlos stated:

“Our first ‘bizhackathon’ helped us to highlight the opportunities of the blockchain for our flow financing activities and our financial services to corporate treasurers, as well as its potential applications to improve our practices, review and optimise our processes, and reinforce the reliability, traceability and security of our transactions”.

With a large focus on both the customer experience and making existing services more efficient, several interesting projects were brought to the table. All of the ideas that are worth pursuing will be analyzed further in the next year. If the proof of concept holds up in the live business world, distributed ledger technology might make its way to BNP Paribas services all over the world.

A Big Commitment By BNP Paribas

It is not the first time the French bank strengthens its ties with the digital currency ecosystem. Not too long ago, the bank invested in Digital Asset Holdings, as they saw the potential this company is offering to find bright minds in the world of Bitcoin and blockchain. Furthermore, BNP Paribas is active as part of the R3 consortium, as well as the CDC initiative.

Other banks are keeping a close eye on the evolution of blockchain technology as well. While it remains to be seen how BNP Paribas and consorts will implement distributed ledger technology in the future, this news should be seen as a vote of confidence by the traditional financial world.

What are your thoughts on the move by BNP Paribas? How can the blockchain help their business? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Finextra

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, BNP Paribas