Blockchain Startup Dragonfly Signs Deal With Japan’s NRI and Internet Bank SBI Sumishin
by Fintech News Singapore March 8, 2016Dragonfly Fintech, a Singapore startup that develops blockchain technology for the financial services and banking industry, has signed a contract with Nomura Research Institute (NRI), in conjunction with the Japanese SBI Sumishin Net Bank.
Under the agreement, Dragonfly Fintech will provide NRI with its blockchain technology, a set of practical tools under a framework called the Automated Clearing and Electronic Settlement (ACES) initiative. The collaboration will be focused on conducting a proof-of-concept test of the application of blockchain technology to the core architecture of SBI Sumishin.
ACES is a distributed and decentralized blockchain system which uses the core technology of the NEM project to provide banks with a full stage service allowing them perform Settlement and Clearing house activities themselves and provide settlement on the fly with reduction in counterparty risk.
The technology aims to address seven key strategic implications of the current financial industry:
- Compliance should be managed at the transaction level;
- Easy integration of a new system with existing ones through a simple interface;
- Near real-time transaction confirmation;
- Ability to handle high transaction capacity (1000s of transactions per second);
- Ability to enable transactions to be carried out in different currencies;
- Bank should be in full control of the blockchain;
- Provide instant, secure access to the service with no down time.
ACES aims to create a low-cost next-generation electronic monetary system with robust financial transaction recording capabilities and security.
Graphic via Dragonfly Fintech Paper (http://www.dragonflyfintech.com/static/DF_Paper.pdf)
Dragonfly Fintech, a startup incorporated in Singapore, was founded by serial technopreneur Lon Wong, and NEM core developer Makoto Takemiya.
Japanese FIs dive into blockchain tech
NRI, a leading Japanese think tank and provider of consulting services and system solutions, has started expressing interest in blockchain technology in late-2015. In October last year, it announced a new study intended to assess the use of blockchain technology in the securities sector.
The partnership between Dragonfly Fintech, NRI and SBI Sumishin Net Bank, comes at the time when an increasing number of Japanese banks and financial institutions are exploring the merits of blockchain technology to streamline their processes.
In February, Japan’s bourse operator, Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), announced that it was teaming up with IBM to start testing the blockchain technology to eventually implement the technology in financial transactions. Both companies are currently in the experimentation phase and will first conduct proof-of-concept tests in markets with low transaction volume.
Meanwhile, Mizuho Financial Group (MFG), one of the country’s largest financial holding companies, is currently working on two separate blockchain projects.
One is a strategic partnership with leading technology solutions corporation Cognizant Technology Solutions to develop a record-keeping system for documents among Mizuho Financial Group companies around the world.
The other project is a collaboration to use Microsoft’s Azure blockchain-as-a-service with three local companies: Information Services International-Dentsu, CurrencyPort, and Microsoft Japan.
Featured image: Tokyo Bay seen from Odaiba, Minato, via Wikipedia.
