We know that blockchain is the technology on everyone’s minds right now. One of the big names being added into this list is the banking industry. Yes, the banking industry is looking to take over blockchain and cryptocurrency market. For this, the banking sector is looking to launch a trading platform of its own. For this, a group of financial firms led by UBS Group AG is looking to settle cross-border trades with its “Bitcoin-like” token.
Talking about this financial firm, there are big names in the firm such as Barclays, Nasdaq, Credit Suisse Group, Banco Santander, ING and Lloyds among others. Wall Street Journal reports that this is named as ‘utility settlement coin’ or USC. At the moment, the financial firm has invested more than $60 million in this new company called Fnality International.
Apparently, this token from the financial firms is 4 years in the making and it looks all set to be unveiled now. This token will work as a payment device as well as “messenger that carries all the information required to complete a trade,” reports WSJ.
It is being said that this new permissioned blockchain system will make cross-border trades easier, faster and much less risky. UBS investment strategy head Hyder Jaffrey told WSJ that in this way, “You remove settlement risk, the counterparty risk, the market risk,” He added that “All of those risks add up to costs and inefficiencies in the marketplace.”
Apart from the banks mentioned above, USC token will be used by Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, State Street Bank & Trust Co., Commerzbank AG, KBC Group NV, Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group Inc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp who have also agreed on this deal. It is being said that the platform will be ready in the next 12 months which means it will be operational in 2020.