Commonwealth Bank Seeks Leading Blockchain Role with Sydney Conference

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will host a two-day blockchain conference in Sydney next month in an attempt to explore the technology's potential.

According to a Computerworld report

, the bank – which recently partnered with distributed ledger startup R3CEV and has experimented with Ripple's technology – has teamed up with Coala, a research organisation which had already organised an international series of blockchain events.

David Whiteing, CIO at Commonwealth Bank, said:

"Blockchain has the potential to transform banking in the way that the Internet transformed how we buy music and watch movies ... It's an exciting time in the development of this technology and our involvement means Commonwealth Bank is set to be at the forefront of this in Australia for the benefit of our customers."

The workshops are expected to explore blockchain technology, any regulatory issues and its potential within the country.

Speakers include

Joi Ito, director of MIT Media Lab, who will discuss the role played by universities in facilitating innovation and Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

The news comes after reports suggested the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) confirmed that it was investigating the actions of banks in the country, after they reportedly closed down the accounts of various bitcoin businesses.

Sidney image via Victor Maschek / Shutterstock.com