Bank of America is going big on blockchain.
Bank of America is trying to steal a march on the
latest developments in the technology behind digital
currency bitcoin by loading up on blockchain-related
patents.
Blockchain works like a huge, decentralized ledger
for the digital currency bitcoin which records every
transaction and stores this information on a global
network so it cannot be tampered with.
Major financial institutions -- including the Bank of
England -- have released a number of notes over the
last year on the potential of the technology and have
created teams within their organizations to look into
how to develop the cryptocurrency.
But Bank of America is going one step further by
attempting to patent some of the use cases of the
technology. The company has already filed for 15
blockchain-related patents and is currently in the
process of drafting another 20 to be submitted to the
U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) later this
month, a spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday.
"Blockchain's very intriguing and for us it's a balance
between not wanting to be Neanderthal but not
wanting to put something out in a commercial
application where the commercial application is still
very unclear as a technologist, the technology is
fascinating," Catherine Bessant, the chief operations
and technology office at Bank of America, said during
a CNBC event at Davos last week.
"And we have tried to stay on the forefront, I think we
have somewhere around 15 patents, most people
would be surprised at Bank of America with patents
in the blockchain or cryptocurrency space. (It's) very
important in the intellectual property world to
reserve our spot even before we know what the
commercial application might be."In December, the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) published 10 of Bank of
America's applications. The USPTO publishes patent
applications 18 months after they're filed. But the
latest information shows that the number of patents
Bank of America has filed for and is looking to apply
for is much higher.
Bank of America patents published by the USPTO
showed proposals for a "cryptocurrency risk
detection system" and "suspicious user alert system"
among others. These patents have not yet been
granted.
The technology might be some years off before
becoming mainstream for banks, but institutions are
taking a collaborative approach to the technology,
working with start-ups and even rival lenders. A
consortium of more than 25 banks, led by fintech
(financial technology) company R3, is currently
developing a framework for applying blockchain
technology to markets.
Last year, Goldman Sachs released a note that said
blockchain could "change everything" while banks
from Barclays to UBS explained how the technology
could be used in areas from remittances to drawing up contracts.
latest developments in the technology behind digital
currency bitcoin by loading up on blockchain-related
patents.
Blockchain works like a huge, decentralized ledger
for the digital currency bitcoin which records every
transaction and stores this information on a global
network so it cannot be tampered with.
Major financial institutions -- including the Bank of
England -- have released a number of notes over the
last year on the potential of the technology and have
created teams within their organizations to look into
how to develop the cryptocurrency.
But Bank of America is going one step further by
attempting to patent some of the use cases of the
technology. The company has already filed for 15
blockchain-related patents and is currently in the
process of drafting another 20 to be submitted to the
U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) later this
month, a spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday.
"Blockchain's very intriguing and for us it's a balance
between not wanting to be Neanderthal but not
wanting to put something out in a commercial
application where the commercial application is still
very unclear as a technologist, the technology is
fascinating," Catherine Bessant, the chief operations
and technology office at Bank of America, said during
a CNBC event at Davos last week.
"And we have tried to stay on the forefront, I think we
have somewhere around 15 patents, most people
would be surprised at Bank of America with patents
in the blockchain or cryptocurrency space. (It's) very
important in the intellectual property world to
reserve our spot even before we know what the
commercial application might be."In December, the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) published 10 of Bank of
America's applications. The USPTO publishes patent
applications 18 months after they're filed. But the
latest information shows that the number of patents
Bank of America has filed for and is looking to apply
for is much higher.
Bank of America patents published by the USPTO
showed proposals for a "cryptocurrency risk
detection system" and "suspicious user alert system"
among others. These patents have not yet been
granted.
The technology might be some years off before
becoming mainstream for banks, but institutions are
taking a collaborative approach to the technology,
working with start-ups and even rival lenders. A
consortium of more than 25 banks, led by fintech
(financial technology) company R3, is currently
developing a framework for applying blockchain
technology to markets.
Last year, Goldman Sachs released a note that said
blockchain could "change everything" while banks
from Barclays to UBS explained how the technology
could be used in areas from remittances to drawing up contracts.
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