The Wall Street Blockchain Alliance (WSBA) has partnered with R3 to make use of their Corda platform for the advancement of blockchain adoption, as reported February 5, 2019.

Building Bridges

R3 has seen quite the whirlwind 2019 after only a few weeks into the new year. Following their announcement to induct SBI and SWIFT to their platform, they have scored another coup.

On February 5, 2019, R3 announced that the WSBA will be joining their blockchain consortium and making use of their Corda platform. The WSBA is a consortium dedicated to the promotion of blockchain technologies across the world as well as ensuring uniformity in blockchain practices.

The management of WSBA has expressed optimism about the new partnership with Ron Quaranta, their CEO, stating:

“We are pleased to partner with R3 and introduce our trade association to the wide range of use cases that Corda enables throughout global financial services. We are certain that our members will benefit from our close collaboration with this leading industry body.”

The partnership will see the WSBA developing a number of innovations on the Corda platform which will help drive adoption. As the press release stated, the use of the Corda platform will help minimize costs and will aid businesses conduct inter-organizational transactions with less friction and on a secure platform.

Advancing the Cause

The statement also said that the two bodies would “advocate a strategic approach to collaborating with regulatory bodies so that financial markets, and beyond can gain the full benefits of blockchain’s capabilities.”

This is relevant because one of the biggest hurdles that blockchain has faced worldwide is gaining the trust of certain regulatory bodies, leading cryptocurrencies to be banned in China and ICOs to be banned in South Korea.

As more regulatory authorities are given a chance to collaborate with blockchain firms, better and more effective laws can be set up to stimulate industry growth. This work being pushed by a Wall Street-focused organization will help, considering the long-drawn battle the sector has been engaged in to get ETF approval from the SEC.

R3, on their part, also have high hopes for this new venture.

“The Wall Street Blockchain Alliance (WSBA) and R3 will work together to accelerate widespread adoption across an innovative community of financial services professionals. We advocate a strategic approach to collaborating with regulatory bodies so that financial markets, and beyond can gain the full benefits of blockchain’s capabilities,” said David E. Rutter, CEO of R3.