In the new issue of the blockchain for corporations rubric, the Center for the practical use of blockchain-technology Orbita specifically for BlockchainJournal has made an overview of recent initiatives to introduce distributed registry technology in the public and commercial sectors.

Main news:

• IDC: global spending on the blockchain in 2019 will increase by almost 2 times – to $ 2.9 billion, and by 2022 it will reach $ 12.4 billion.
• New blockchain cases: launch of blockchain projects from three European and one Asian stock exchanges: repos, issue of bonds, infrastructure for STO and electronic voting on the blockchain; blockchain network for trade financing from Ant Financial; blockchain infrastructure for financial services from Japanese regional banks; Denver blockchain for electronic voting, IBM blockchain solutions security and Quantstamp security testing.
• In Russia: Alfa-Bank became a member of the blockcoin-trading platform Marco Polo.

In the world

IDC Company has predicted an increase in expenses for blockchain

On March 4, the release of the forecast of IDC analytical company for the global costs of implementing the blockchain – Worldwide Blockchain Spending Forecast. It is expected that in 2019 expenses will almost double (+ 88.7%), and in 2022 it will be $ 12.4 billion. At the same time, the cumulative average annual growth rate will be 76% (CAGR).

If we compare the new forecast with IDC estimates from July 2018, we can conclude that the company expects a slight market acceleration, since it previously estimated spending in 2022 at $ 11.7 billion with a CAGR of 73.2%.

This year, the financial sector players (banks, securities, investments and insurance) will spend about $ 1.1 billion on the introduction of the blockchain. In the industrial sector, expenditures will be $ 653 million, and in the services sector – $ 642 million.

The most popular cases for investment in blockchain technology thus remain cross-border payments and settlements (15.9%), trade finance and post-trade settlement services (10%), proof of product origin (9.8%), asset / product management (8.6%) and regulatory compliance (7.3%).

Geographically, the leadership in spending on the blockchain will remain with the United States ($ 1.1 billion), followed by the countries of Western Europe ($ 674 million) and China ($ 319 million).

Why this is important: IDC is currently probably the most authoritative source for statistics of the global blockchain market. At the same time, not only the forecast itself, but also its changes over time, carry important information.

Blockchain in the financial sector

Several stock exchanges use blockchain

• The Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Digital Exchange announced that it had chosen the blockchain platform Corda Enterprise from the R3 consortium to create a platform for trading digital assets and conducting STO. The launch of this site is scheduled for the second half of 2019. Note that at the end of 2019, the launch of Bakkt from the New York Stock Exchange Corp. of the Intercontinental Exchange Corporation (ICE) is also expected.
• Commerzbank announced the successful testing of a conceptual project on the use of the blockchain for a repo transaction together with the German stock exchange Deutsche Börse. As part of the transaction, money and securities were tokenized, which allowed for simultaneous delivery and payment (“delivery versus payment”).
• SWIFT announced the launch of a Proof of Concept-project on the use of distributed registry technology for electronic voting of shareholders (e-Voting) in conjunction with the Singapore Exchange Singapore and Singapore's leading securities provider, SLIB. The industry giants Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank will use the SWIFT infrastructure and interfaces to access, text, and evaluate the new blockchain solution. The experiment will test the possibility of using the solution by the Central Securities Depository (CSD), integration with SWIFT technology, as well as the ease of use of ISO 20022 (international standard for electronic messaging between financial industry organizations) for API deployment.
• The Gibraltar Stock Exchange (Gibraltar Stock Exchange) has announced a test use of the blockchain for issuing bonds. As part of the trial release, the hybrid blockchain technology (a mixture of closed and public) Securities Trading Asset Clarification (STACS) Protocol from the company Hashstacs Inc. was used. Note that the used blockchain solution allows not only to simplify the issuance of bonds, but also provides for tracking sales, and also allows you to distribute dividend payments using smart contracts.

Why this is important: attention is drawn to the diversity of both the cases themselves and the diversity of exchanges in a geographical context. Apparently, the stock exchanges have already tasted a new technology and are now trying to become leaders in the practical use of the blockchain for various processes.

Ant Financial announced the launch of a blockchain network to finance the supply chain

At the end of February, Ant Financial, the parent company of AliPay, the largest player in the online payment market in China, launched two new blockchain startups in Shanghai.

The first is Ant Blockchain Technology, which focuses on software development, services based on Big Data, etc. There is little information about development plans.

The second is Ant Double Chain Technology, which is focused on introducing a blockchain to finance the supply chain. According to the information resource 8btc.com, Ant Double Chain will offer the infrastructure for launching various corporate blockchain services related to trade finance for a consortium of companies. The latter, apparently, should include both corporate organizations and factoring companies and banks.

According to Ledger Insights, Ant Double Chain aims to simplify the provision of financing for small and medium businesses.

The pilot project was launched back in October 2018, and testing was carried out as part of the supply chain for a large automaker. It is known that a consortium of banks has already joined the pilot project.

Why this is important: Ant Financial begins to form around itself a consortium of Chinese corporations and banks, promoting its own blockchain solutions in such a highly competitive area as trade finance.

Apparently, another player intends to challenge the currently most advanced platforms, such as Marco Polo on the Corda blockchain or we.trade based on Hyperldeger.

5 regional Japanese banks create blockchain infrastructure for financial services

Bank of Iwate, Bank of Yokohama, Aomori Bank, Akita Bank and Yamanashi Chuo Bank have announced the launch of a financial blockchain platform called Fitting Hub.

Details of the platform are not yet available, and the initial information about it is only in Japanese. It is known that the platform is aimed at sharing by regional Japanese banks that are experiencing difficulties with the independent development of advanced IT services.

Fitting Hub is a blockchain-based infrastructure built for the joint provision of financial services by banks and business operators. Thanks to the integration of the authentication function, users can access the services of various banks on one screen.

Note that when trying to create such a system based on traditional technologies, there are problems with data separation, which are solved through the use of the blockchain.

The first service scheduled to start in April will be the electronic delivery service.

Why this is important: a joint blockchain infrastructure can help small banks to jointly build advanced digital financial services to compete with big players.

Public Sector Blockchain

In South Korea, they chose three blockchain projects that will receive state support

The Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea has selected three consortia that will implement blockchain projects with support from the state budget ($ 4 million at the expense of the state and $ 3.7 million at the expense of companies) in the following areas:

• Platform for donations (the leader of the consortium – E4NET);
• Plator for the secondary car market (the leader of the consortium – Hyundai-AutoEver);
• Blockchain network for authentication in the financial, educational and telecom sectors (leader of the consortium – SK Telecom).

Why this is important: such projects are part of the strategy of the South Korean government to support the development of the national blockchain industry.

Despite the relatively small amounts of funding, leading industry companies participate in these projects, which indicates the interest of the business in the development of blockchain services.

Denver uses blockchain for electronic voting

In Denver, the municipal elections in May and June 2019 will use the Voatz blockchain-based e-voting mobile application. Voatz will allow the military and their families outside the United States to vote. Note that the pilot project is being implemented jointly by the Denver government, Tusk Philanthropies and the National Cyber Security Center.

Voatz has already held 30 successful polls (from political party meetings to student government elections). About 150 thousand voters took part in the largest election held. But probably the most important case was the use of Voatz to vote for the military and their families from West Virginia in the US congressional elections in 2018.

Why this is important: while the audience of voters using Voatz remains extremely narrow – the military outside the country. However, replicating the solution to another state and participating in the project of the National Cybersecurity Center suggests that a significant scale of the project can be expected soon.

Singapore government announces launch of pilot blockchain project TradeTrust for sea freight

TradeTrust is a solution for digitizing documents related to sea freight (in particular involving the use of an electronic bill of lading) with blockchain elements.

The development of TradeTrust should be provided by specialized Singaporean information technology (IMDA) and port management (MPA) agencies, with the active support of Customs and the Singapore Shipping Association.

Why this is important: Singaporean companies are already participating in the TradeLens project and it is not yet clear what the purpose of the state-owned TradeTrust initiative is.

In any case, this could be an interesting example for an in-depth analysis in Russia, where a pilot project on integrating with TradeLens at the base of the Big Port in St. Petersburg is planned to start soon.

A blockchain system for registration of newborns has been launched in Tanzania

The world's first blockchain system for registering newborns will not only keep a record of all newborns, but also increase the efficiency of medical services for pregnant women, in particular, the necessary vitamins will be distributed by e-ID, which will be assigned to every pregnant woman.

It should be noted that the main purpose of creating a solution is to combat fraud in the distribution of humanitarian aid, on which Tanzania substantially depends. Often, humanitarian aid is received not by those who need it, but by the blockchain system will help solve this problem.

Why this is important: such a project may be relevant for many countries where there is a distribution of social and medical support to pregnant women and newborns.

Blockchain in the business sector

Food companies expand blockchain application for supply chains

• French retailer Carrefour, who previously launched a solution to track deliveries of farm chicken, tomatoes, eggs and oranges based on the IBM Food Trust , has begun to track a new type of product – fresh milk (Carrefour Quality Line fresh micro-filtered full-fat milk). Having scanned the QR code, consumers will be able to find out detailed information about the milk supply chain: GPS coordinates of the farm where the milk was produced, the composition of feed for cows, the date of milk collection, the place of packing and information about the technologies used. The launch is scheduled for March 2019.
• The American company Bumble Bee Foods, one of the largest seafood suppliers in North America, announced the launch of a SAP Cloud Platform Blockchain based solution to track tuna shipments from Indonesia to the final consumer. With the help of a QR code, consumers will be able to find out not only the place of origin of tuna, but also get additional information about the manufacturer – availability of certificates, size of catch and other parameters characterizing the use of sustainable development practices.
• The largest popcorn maker in Europe, the French company Nataïs, has announced a partnership with SAP to introduce a blockchain solution aimed at tracking the popcorn supply chain. The main goal is to increase consumer confidence in product safety.

Why this is important: the largest companies from the food and retail industries are no longer just testing, but they are also launching blockchain services for tracking supply chains.

The main driver, apparently, is the competitive struggle for the user base with the help of new opportunities associated with the provision of complete and reliable information about the product.

IBM and Quantstamp Announce Expansion of Security for Blockchain Solutions

• X-Force Red, an IBM security team, announced the launch of a new blockchain testing service to identify vulnerabilities. It is noted that the cheyne code (smart contracts), the public key infrastructure and the distributed registries themselves, as well as the backend process, applications and hardware used to control access and control the blockchain network, are evaluated.
• Meanwhile, a graduate of the Y Combinator incubator, Quantstamp, a company specializing in the security of smart contracts, announced it was expanding its business in Japan and creating Quantstamp Japan GK with the support of Nomura Holdings and Digital Garage.

Why this is important: against the background of the growing use of blockchain for business processes, the demand for technologies ensuring the security of the blockchain itself is growing.

Blockchain startup Embleema announced a strategic partnership with a leading European center for cancer research

The Embleema agreement with Gustave Roussy Institut involves the use of blockchain solutions for accessing data from patients with cancer.

The PatientTruth service will allow patients to collect all medical data in one place and manage access to it. For providing their data for use in research, patients will be able to receive digital tokens.

Research institutions, in turn, will have access to reliable anonymous medical data that can be used for further experiments.

Why this is important: the idea of securely sharing medical data using the blockchain is not new. In this case, the precedent of interaction with the leading research center in Europe is important.

In Russia

Alfa-Bank became a member of the Marco Polo trade finance platform

Marco Polo is one of the world's largest trade finance platforms, built on the basis of the blockchain Corda. Marco Polo includes such major financial organizations as the French bank BNP Paribas, the German Commerzbank, the Dutch group ING, the British bank NatWest, the Thai Bangkok Bank, the Japanese SMBC, the Danish Danske Bank and others.

Participation in Marco Polo will allow Alfa-Bank to offer its customers a wide range of solutions for international trade finance and a seamless connection to the world trade ecosystem.

Why this is important: Alfa-Bank becomes a member of Marco Polo, in the Big Port of St. Petersburg integration with TradeLens is planned, Alrosa participates in the Tracr blockchain project – in this way Russian business is gradually integrated into international blockchain networks.

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