JPMorgan formally quits R3
JPMorgan Chase has formally exited blockchain consortium R3, following in the footsteps of fellow titans Goldman Sachs and Banco Santander who split last November.
The departure comes as R3 continues to pursue fundraising efforts, looking to raise to raise $150 million from its members and strategic investors in return for a 60% stake in the business – a downgrade from its original funding target of $200 million.
Other institutions rumoured to have jumped ship since the term sheets first did the rounds include Morgan Stanley and National Australia Bank.
Charley Cooper, a managing director at R3, confirmed the news of JPMorgan’s exit to Reuters: “JPMorgan parted ways with R3 to pursue a very distinct technology path which is at odds with the one chosen by the global financial services industry, represented by our 80-plus members.”
JPMorgan is a founding member of the Eenterprise Eethereum Alliance, which favours the development of corporate-grade technology over the open source blockchain platform. The bank has also developed its own DLT platform, dubbed Quorum, which is making waves within the Linux Foundation-led Hyperledger movement.
