Ethereum Enterprise Alliance Adds 86 New Members Including DTCC, State Street And Infosys 

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The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, an initiative to standardize a business version of Ethereum that launched in February, announced that it has added 86 new members, including heavyweights such as the DTCC, State Street, Infosys, Deloitte, MUFG, Toyota Research Institute and Broadridge.

They join original members Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, Intel, UBS, Accenture and others, bringing the EEA’s total membership to 116.

A number of blockchain startups that have so far focused on public blockchains such as BlockCypher, Etherisc, have also joined, perhaps reflecting members’ desire that private blockchains eventually connect to public ones, which would help each side build its network effect. The Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, which launched the privacy coin Zcash, also joined.

The EEA plans to integrate a version of Ethereum called Quorum that JPMorgan Chase has been testing for international transfers and privacy features.

Ethereum is a network similar to bitcoin’s that is focused on smart contracts. It uses a distributed ledger that can act as a single version of the truth, with copies held by multiple parties, rather than each player holding its own ledger, each of which has to be reconciled with everyone else’s.

The additional members give the EEA a size that puts it on par with a similar project, the 130-member Linux Foundation’s global Hyperledger, which counts IBM, Intel, American Express, CME Group and Accenture among its premier members, plus several firms who are now also EEA members, including DTCC, Broadridge and State Street. Another industry consortium, R3, has more than 80 members including banks, clearing houses, exchanges, market infrastructure providers, asset managers, central banks, and more.

The EEA new members include both financial services incumbents and blockchain startups, and span industries, including state government, health and entertainment. The diversity of the members in terms of industry and age suggests the possibility for disruptive innovation.

The new EEA members also bring a global flavor. Other additions include Consensus Base from Tokyo, ConsenLabs in China, Coinplug in South Korea, Smart Contract Japan, Samsung SDS, Taiwan Fintech association, Tecnalia Research and Innovation from Spain and Utocat from France.

The news caps off a week of positive trends for Ethereum, starting with the price, which in the last seven days has gone from $91 to $163. The rise in price also meant that a computer running the Ethereum network can now earn more than one securing Bitcoin’s. The main company working on fostering development of Ethereum around the world, ConsenSys also held the Ethereal Summit on Friday, which was attended by 650 guests and touched on topics beyond financial services to include entertainment and humanitarian aid. The news also comes on the eve of the biggest annual industry event, Consensus, by industry publication CoinDesk, which will host 2,500 guests in New York City.

Source: Forbes

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