Blockchain & Smart Contracts – Page 11 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Project Bletchley

Jul 04 2016

On June 15, 2016, Microsoft released a white paper introducing Project Bletchley, Microsoft’s next iteration on its blockchain as a service (“BaaS”) product. In late 2015, Microsoft announced that it would be leveraging its cloud platform, Azure, to provide a low-risk sandbox for customers to gain experience with how blockchain may be applied in various business scenarios, such as supply chain management. Bletchley is positioned as incorporating the latest innovations on the blockchain protocol in the Azure cloud service.

Generally, blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger. Blockchain differs from traditional centralized ledgers because the blockchain protocol uses encryption combined with distributed copies of the ledger to replace the need for a third-party to serve as the ledger’s trusted guardian. Further, blockchain is more efficient because all transactions are mathematically provable and do not require a multi-day verification process. The protocol is append only, and distributed, thus every participant receives an update to their copy of the ledger with the latest transactions. Yet, this revolutionary framework, blockchain 1.0, was just the beginning.

Future of Fintech Regulations in the US

May 20 2016

By Charles Carter and Anthony (Tony) Yerry (ed. Cameron Abbott and Giles Whittaker)

Investment in financial technology (fintech) companies has surpassed US$24 billion worldwide since 2010, which consequently emphasises the importance of the relationship between fintech companies and regulators as they attempt to establish a culture of compliance while not stifling innovation.

As suggested by the industry experts according to The Wall Street Journal, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) may be the best federal agency to regulate fintech companies in the US. On March 31 the OCC during a speech at Harvard University on the innovation of the fintech industry released a white paper which attempts to launch formal discussions between regulators and the industry.

For more information and analysis of the OCC white paper please see K&L Gates’ e-alert here.

EU Fintech developments

Apr 19 2016

By Jacob Ghanty

In the linked article, Jacob Ghanty discusses some UK and EU regulatory developments affecting the FinTech sector. This article was first published on Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence on 1 April 2016.

EU Oversight on payments

Apr 18 2016

By Jacob Ghanty

The second EU Payment Services Directive is set to change the banking landscape in Europe. In the linked article, Jacob Ghanty describes some of the changes that PSD2 will bring about. This article was first published in inCOMPLIANCE, member publication of the International Compliance Association www.int-comp.org.

Category:Blockchain & Smart Contracts