French Bank BNP Paribas has signed a partnership agreement with crowdfunding providers Lendosphere, Enerfip and Lumo to enable private companies to issue mini-bonds through a private blockchain. Through a new digital lab, the bank is working on a distributed ledger based on the blockchain powering bitcoin that will be able to maintain a record of all mini-bonds issued through the platform, as well as all of the changes in their ownership. BNP Paribas claims that the use of the blockchain will ensure that transactions across the network are performed more securely, as well as faster and more efficiently. The bank aims to deliver the new platform by the end of 2016 with a launch to follow once a pending French law on mini-bonds receives final approval. “Blockchain technology is particularly suited to the fundraising needs of private companies as transactions volumes are typically lower than for listed companies,” BNP Paribas Securities Services Innovation & Digital Lab Manager Marc Younes said in a statement. “This technology could also serve to standardise processes around the trade lifecycle of mini-bonds.” The announcement of the partnership appears to be part of BNP Paribas’ ongoing expansion into the blockchain space. That included the opening of a dedicated blockchain research facility and its first blockchain Bizhackathon for the Americas platform in New York on Sept. 7 and 8. According to AllCoinNews, that event saw participants explore how the technology can advance the consumer-client experience and improve the efficiency of the services offered in different areas of BNP Paribas’ CIB platform. BNP Paribas has become prominent in blockchain industry groups and is a member of the European CDC initiative, the R3(CV) Consortium and the board of the ever-growing Digital Asset Holdings. Most of these initiatives remain in their earlier stages. However, what BMP Paribas is offering here is planned for real-world testing by the end of the year, making it yet another milestone along the path of financial market blockchain revolution. Show your support for our mission with our one-click subscription to our YouTube channel (below). The more subscribers we have, the more YouTube will suggest relevant enterprise and emerging technology content to you. Thanks! Support our mission: >>>>>> SUBSCRIBE NOW >>>>>> to our YouTube channel. … We’d also like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content. If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
French bank BNP Paribas has signed a partnership deal with Lendosphere, a crowdfunding provider, to enable the issuing of mini-bonds through a private blockchain. The company behind the new technology is called LendoSphere The platform is waiting on upcoming French legislation on mini-bonds to be approved, but expects to launch by the end of the year.