IBM is embracing the blockchain using the technology behind Bitcoin to power smart contracts.
Nowadays, the technology of blockchain is seen as the main technological innovation of Bitcoin, since it stands as proof of all the transactions on the network. The system can ease transactions in a way that is able to change more than just the financial industry.
International Business Machines Corp. seems to put into practice the idea. The tech giant announced that it was going to launch its own, open source version of blockchain software and create a “smart contracts” system.
Actually, the company doesn’t mean to reinvent digital currency, but is trying to make possible for users and big firms to use the potential of the web. IBM’s ambition is to make the internet either more secure or more adjustable.The time frame for the release of the code was given only as “in the next few months,” states SiliconANGLE.
However, IBM’s smart contracts system won’t include the use of Bitcoin, but will instead use blockchain’s ability to track individual transactions keeping the details private. The idea is to allow companies to embed rules into their contracts and allow the ledger to enforce them.
Arvind Krishna, IBM Research Senior Vice President, said that the firm is working on a way to develop blockchain technology into a system that can facilitate contracts, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Also, it’s important to mention another aspect when it comes to the use of the technology behind Bitcoin. Arvind Krishna noted in his interview with the WSJ that the technology of blockchain has to bring financial solutions to people and countries who lack for current fiat currency legacy financial services:
“Blockchain, as a technology, is extremely interesting and intriguing,” he said. “I want to extend banking to the 3.2 billion people who are going to come into the middle class over the next 15 years. So I need a much lower cost of keeping a ledger. Blockchain offers some intriguing possibilities there.”
Still, the logic behind the blockchain doesn’t need to be limited to financial transactions. So-called “smart contracts” can put this sort of ability in anybody’s hands. This could make setting up an online store fairly trivial for private citizens, or allow people to easily sell their home directly, without the need for an intermediary. You could sign on to a smart contract as a mortgage and secure its rules according to the agreed-upon rules entered into the blockchain, reads ExtremeTech.
Eugenia graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University with a degree in Intercultural Communication, Translation/Interpretation (Italian, English). Currently she works as a business analyst, freelance interpreter and tutor. She’s fond of numismatics, photos, good books and sports, adores travelling and cooking.
