SBI to Use Corda Blockchain for Forex Trading

Ripple’s Japanese partner SBI Holdings says it will use Corda blockchain technology to power forex trading on its platform.

Per a Nikkei report and a joint press release, SBI – a securities giant that also operates banking and crypto exchange services – says that the deal will involve Corda’s mastermind, the blockchain consortium R3, headed by the American software company of the same name.

The forex trading platform’s new blockchain functionality will be implemented in conjunction with CAC, a Tokyo-based systems management services provider. SBI says it is also keen to use blockchain to power its securities platform, SBI Securities.

SBI’s forex platform is named SBI Liquidity Market (SBILM), and the company states that blockchain technology will allow SBILM to automate confirmation procedures in foreign exchange transactions, providing a safer and faster alternative to email or telephone confirmation solutions.

The parties also say that the technology, which is rolling out this month, will help power margin trading, guarantee the identity of transactions on the SBILM platform, improve reliability and power “seamless data linkage” for a number of processes.

SBI joined the R3 consortium in 2016, and is believed to be its biggest shareholder.

The move comes just months after SBI and R3 announced a new partnership deal with a view to speeding up and spreading Corda adoption in Japan.

The deal was struck in January this year, and, at the time, David Rutter, CEO of R3, stated,

“SBI is one of Corda’s biggest champions. With this partnership, we are able to come together better to support the growth of the Corda platform in the region.”