UK bank Barclays has partnered with London-based startup Clearmatics to host a blockchain hackathon involving the latter’s open source interoperability protocol, Ion.
This will take place at the Barclays Rise FinTech hub in London on 5th-6th February. Further details here.
Blockchains need to be bespoke
Developers need to reconfigure their approach and way of thinking when building blockchains, according to Barclays’ Intrapreneur, Julian Wilson.
Speaking at an event in December entitled Hard Fork Decentralized, Wilson argued developers should not be using the technology as a bolt-on or addition to current ways of working, but rather overhauling business models built around a suitable blockchain.
In some cases, venturing down this route purely for the sake of it is the worst thing a company can do, he continued. For an organisation like Barclays, it is not as simple as just migrating to the blockchain, given its hundreds of years of evolution. Solutions therefore need to be bespoke.
And when it comes to satisfying know-your-customer (KYC) policies, they should be built with the law in mind, and not the other way around, Wilson concluded.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.