Two of the world’s largest container carriers announced a full integration onto IBM and Maersk’s TradeLens blockchain platform. CMA CGM, a French container and shipping company, along with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company have joined the TradeLens network to enable a complete digital transformation of their supply chains. Marvin Erdly, head of TradeLens for IBM Blockchain, told Cointelegraph that as supply chains become digitized, manual paper-based processes, like processing bills of lading, are removed from the equation. “These processes are now embedded in blockchain networks and smart contracts that are trusted by all parties involved,” he said. Erdly further shared that …

New procedures are being implemented as the world slowly begins to reopen amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While temperature checks and mandatory face masks have become the new normal, the world is also witnessing the rise of digital health apps, or “health passports.” Many of these applications serve as a solution to trace individuals’ whereabouts or to store COVID-19 test results, which can then be presented to officials during travel or gatherings to show proof-of-health. While innovative, privacy and regulatory concerns have been expressed with digital solutions designed to trace contact or store user data via smartphones. Blockchain ensures privacy …

A new application powered by the IBM blockchain aims to help people around the world return to physical encounters amid the coronavirus pandemic. IBM Watson Health, a healthcare-focused arm of tech giant IBM, is launching IBM Digital Health Pass, a blockchain-based app to support global organizations and companies as they start reopening after months of lockdown. IBM Watson stated that the new app can deploy multiple data types like COVID-19 test results and onsite temperature scans to generate a verified health status. With the opportunity to verify health status via the app, individuals can safely access public locations like a …

The Bank of Thailand launched the world’s first blockchain-based government savings bond issuance platform using IBM’s blockchain technology. Within two weeks of the launch, the central bank sold more than $1.6 billion worth of savings bonds, as per IBM’s official announcement on Oct. 5, 2020. The use of blockchain technology is said to have reduced the bond issuance time from 15 days to just two days. The increased efficiency of the process has also reduced operational cost and redundant validation of documents involved in bond issuance. IBM along with the central bank collaborated with seven other institutions including Public Debt …

It was just a few years ago that enterprises began showing interest in using blockchain as a technology to bring trust, transparency and better collaboration to multiple entities sharing sensitive business data. Yet as the blockchain space has matured, more companies have started to view blockchain less as a technology and more as an important business tool for digitalization. IBM Blockchain’s general manager, Alistair Rennie, noticed this evolution earlier this year. Cointelegraph had the pleasure of speaking with Rennie to learn more about the evolving enterprise blockchain landscape, how blockchain is playing an important role in IBM’s hybrid cloud strategy, …

Despite Chinese firm Alibaba filing the most patents so far this year, the United States still takes the lead as the country with the most blockchain patents, a Sept. 17 report from intellectual property consultancy KISSPatent said. IBM and Alibaba hold the most blockchain patents. Alibaba has filed more than 200 patents while IBM filed a little over 100. But other U.S.-based companies like Bank of America and Mastercard have also filed several patent applications bumping up the total for the U.S. According to KISSPatent, more blockchain patents have been filed in the first half of 2020 than all of …

The Lygon blockchain platform, which runs on IBM Public Cloud, has reportedly successfully conducted its pilot since last year with Australian banks ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac and a group of 20 Australian businesses. Banks are expected to issue bank guarantees in just one day once they implement Lygon compared to the current paper-based guarantees that can take a month. The three Australian banks and retailers Scentre Group and IBM are planning to expand the Lygon platform for commercial use, according to a report on Sept 1. A bank guarantee is a type of financial backstop offered …

Three of the “big four” Australian banks are forming a new company called Lygon to digitize bank guarantees using blockchain technology. Bank guarantees are an official contract between a debtor and a financial institution. It ensures the debtor and the debt provider that the debt will be paid on time under all circumstances. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation along with two other shareholders — the Australian shopping center company Scentre Group and technology behemoth IBM — are forming the company after a successful pilot last year. The last of …

TradeLens — the blockchain shipping platform created by IBM and Danish logistics giant Maersk — has signed on a major Turkish-owned international terminals operator. TradeLens is a global supply chain management platform designed for containerized freight and logistics, which was first launched by IBM and Maersk back in April 2018. It works by providing standards-based open APIs that allow supply chain data to be immutably and securely tracked and shared using a permissioned blockchain. Turkish-owned YILPORT Holding — which operates 22 terminals and 6 inland terminals across 11 countries — reportedly began integrating data from its Gebze and Gemport terminals …

A platform that paves the way for the creation of tokenized crypto funds has added deposits and withdrawals in Tether — giving greater flexibility for investors who are looking to emulate the strategies of successful traders. Tokenbox allows people who are interested in gaining exposure to the crypto market to buy shares in funds that have been curated by crypto professionals. While some of the opportunities focus on major digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), others are more heavily weighted in altcoins. Full, transparent information is provided about how each fund is performing, the team notes. The …

It’s no secret that 2020 has been the year of decentralized finance when it comes to the crypto world. In this regard, a number of DeFi tokens have enjoyed value surges recently, leading many experts to believe that the future looks bright for this niche sector. Global DeFi markets are continuing to scale up to all-time highs in terms of total value locked, reaching a peak of $4.75 billion on August 11. As a result of these aforementioned developments, mainstream tech players are looking to help financial institutions capitalize on the ongoing DeFi hype. For example, Nitin Gaur, director of …

In a Cointelegraph interview, director of IBM financial services and digital assets, Nitin Gaur, shared how the technology company is helping financial institutions to capitalize on the DeFi movement. Gaur — the author of Blockchain for Business — says it is essential that banks understand and embrace DeFi space. Otherwise, he says it could eventually disrupt their entire business model: “I think that the financial institutions should understand it because it has the potential to eventually sort of take over and subside the business elements of existing business models. And that's one reason why a bank should do it.” DeFi …