Several of the world's largest banks are plotting a £50 million investment in a new digital cash settlement system, according to a report from Reuters.
The cash injection would support the go-to-market of the Utility Settlement Coin, an initiative spearheaded by UBS and blockchain startup Clearmatics and supported by up to other 17 other banks.
Reuters reports that around a dozen banks are investing in a new entity called Fnality which would run the project. Clearmatics filed a trademark for Fnality in June last year.
The news comes six months after Clearmatics raised $12 million to prepare for the launch of a Protocol Provider service to support the launch of the USC Project.
The firm has previously engaged with the Bank of England on research into blockchain interfaces for the revamp of the UK's real-time gross settlement network.
With the R&D phase coming to a close, the USC consortium appear to have been spurred on by JPMorgan's pre-emptive strike earlier this year to launch its own JPMCoin for settlement of interbank transactions.