The rapidly expanding R3 distributed ledger consortium has added its first exchange, in the shape of Brazilian giant BM&FBovespa.
The largest financial market infrastructure in Latin America, BM&FBovespa joins more than 60 of the world's biggest FS players - including banks such as Goldman Sachs, insurance outfit MetLife and data firm Thomson Reuters - as an R3 member.
The exchange operator will work with other members to develop Corda, the R3 shared ledger platform specifically designed to record, manage and synchronise financial agreements between regulated financial institutions.
Jochen Mielke de Lima, IT MD, BM&FBovespa, says: "BM&FBovespa is researching blockchain-based solutions from a business and IT perspective, and we are pleased to join R3 in the drive to innovate in capital markets. Distributed ledgers hold a promise for process efficiencies and we want to work with our customers to evaluate real use cases."
Meanwhile, R3 member BNP Paribas is preparing to host a 'blockchain bizhackathon' in New York. The event, happening this week, will mark the unveiling of the French bank's new in-house Innovation Lab at their Americas head office, with more than 50 participants exploring how DLT can concretely advance the consumer and client experience and improve the efficiency of BNP services.