The largest US bank, JPMorgan Chase, has for months been testing proprietary blockchain technology to make US dollar transfers between London and Tokyo for nearly 2,200 clients, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The bank is examining whether blockchain technology, also know as distributed ledger technology, can be utilized for currency clearing and settlement and at the same time provide quicker transactions and reduction in risk.
JPMorgan plans to expand its testing to real trades in the third quarter of 2016 for various corporate and investment banking clients as well as some hedge funds.
The bank has been trialing the technology in partnership with blockchain startup Digital Asset Holdings, which is managed by former JPMorgan executive Blythe Masters. JPMorgan is one of the major financial investors that contributed to Digital Asset’s $60 million funding round.
JPMorgan is also one of 45 banks that are part of the R3 consortium that is developing blockchain standards for global banking.
