DLT Archives - The Block

a16z’s first global office will be in London due to ‘predictable’ environment

Renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is opening its first global office in London due to a “predictable” regulatory environment.

The decision to expand comes in the wake of growing regulatory challenges faced by crypto firms in the United States. Chris Dixon, a16z's crypto founder and managing partner, highlighted the importance of a predictable business environment as a key factor behind the...

12 June 2023 | Altcoins

Visa will ‘actively contribute’ to web3 development

Visa refuses to become a dinosaur and will “actively contribute” to developing the web3 and crypto ecosystem.

Aside from maximalists, few experts believe that crypto poses an existential threat to fiat currencies. Legacy payment processors like Visa and Mastercard have increasingly been joining the web2-era disruptors like PayPal and Square in supporting the web3 and crypto ecosystem.

Greater public adoption of “crypto” will likely come through CBDCs (Central...

20 December 2022 | Altcoins

HSBC and Wells Fargo using blockchain to settle forex trades

HSBC and Wells Fargo, two of the world’s largest financial institutions, have started using blockchain technology to settle foreign currency trades.

The distributed ledger technology is being provided by Baton Systems with the aim of increasing settlement speed and efficiency.

Through Baton’s platform, the two banks are settling FX trades with real currencies and real accounts in less than three minutes.

It avoids passing the trades through CLS, a...

14 December 2021 | Banking

China unveils blockchain committee with Huawei, Baidu execs and industry CEOs aboard

The central government of China has announced the membership of its national blockchain committee to help bring about standards in distributed ledger technologies.

The 71-strong group, according to a release published on April 13, includes various government staff, academics from technological institutes, as well as business. Senior executives from Huawei, Baidu and Tencent are on the list, as well as CEOs of blockchain and DLT startups in China, including Li Wei, CEO of Hangzhou...