US brokerage TD Ameritrade has found a novel way to use distributed ledger technology, making a series of transactions in order to imprint an advertisement on Bitcoin's blockchain.
DLT has been hailed as a transformative technology, with financial services firms around the world investing big bucks as they scrambling to tap into its potential for everything from retail payments to syndicated lending.
But TD Ameritrade has found a more modest use for the technology, specifically a part of the blockchain called OP_Return, which functions like the memo space on a cheque, where simple messages and characters can be placed within transactions on the blockchain.
The brokerage linked 68 transactions, which each get 80 characters, to permanently embed an image of a flag with its logo on the blockchain.
"The blockchain is an amazing piece of technology. And we’re proud to be part of it. Forever. Through a series of transactions we became the first brand to place an ad in the blockchain. Why? Well, we love finding new ways to use emerging technology. So we decided to have a little fun and plant our flag. Okay—technically, we embedded it," says TD Ameritrade.