Blockchain Firms Team Up with Deloitte

By Bryan Yurkan for American Banker

Deloitte is partnering with five blockchain companies as it seeks practical uses for the emerging technology in its consulting business.

The companies — BlockCypher, Bloq, ConsenSys, Loyyal (formerly known as Ribbit.me) and the Stellar Development Foundation — will provide blockchain-related services to Deloitte’s financial services clients, Deloitte said in a news release Tuesday.

Deloitte is experimenting with 20 potential applications of blockchain, including digital identities, digital banking, cross-border payments and loyalty and rewards.

“Blockchain is proving to be a major disruptive force in financial services,” Joe Guastella, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and the leader of its financial services practice, said in the release. “The industry prototypes and pilots have shown this, and we continue to focus on helping our clients to make blockchain a reality for their businesses.”

Deloitte’s move is one of several recent efforts to explore how blockchain technology could be used in financial services. In the last month USAA joined a blockchain trade association, IBM released a set of blockchain cloud services to help financial and other companies meet security and compliance standards, and a new investment fund was formed to help banks partner with blockchain companies.

First appeared at Amerian Banker