Distributed ledger technology specialist R3 has released the latest generation of its Corda platform for beta testing.
With this public beta release, R3 is inviting feedback from market participants on the principles that underpin the next generation of the Corda platform and their expectations from this release.
Through consultation with the Corda community, this evolution is driven, inter alia, by scalability, enhanced privacy and security and its ability to interconnect and interoperate with other DLT platforms.
It prioritises the extension of developer-friendly tools around the platform, with Corda being distributed as a single open-source codebase to encourage developer contributions to the codebase and steps to reduce the total cost of ownership.
R3 indicates that Corda has been deployed by “hundreds of institutions operating at scale” in regulated financial markets around the world, including DTCC, Euroclear, SIX Digital Exchange and the Central Bank of UAE.
The company has also partnered with Adhara to step up the advance of interoperability protocols in financial services through a Hyperledger Foundation laboratory known as Harmonia. This, it indicates, will address the requirements and constraints that confront financial services firms in delivering atomic settlement across blockchain networks.
HQLAX and digital payments fintech Fnality have delivered a proof of concept supporting atomic DvP repo settlement utilising R3 Corda and Hyperledger Besu, “This,” the participants indicate, “will bring regulated markets one step close to safe and secure enterprise DLT interoperability”.
R3 co-founder and chief strategy officer Todd McDonald says: “As a trusted partner to global financial market participants, we are committed to enabling an open, trusted and enduring digital economy — and the next generation of Corda is the next step in delivering on this mission.”
“We believe this economy will be built upon an interconnected ecosystem of multiple DLT platforms, where apps will transact seamlessly and securely across networks —not isolated or walled gardens of ‘public’ or ‘private’ networks. We are already seeing demand for Corda’s enhanced capabilities from central banks exploring CBDCs for cross-border payments and wholesale settlement.”
“The need for interoperability between DLT networks is well known throughout the industry,” adds R3’s chief technology officer Richard Gendal Brown. “Enabling diverse ecosystems to connect and innovate avoids vendor lock-in and helps overcome the siloed infrastructures that regulated markets are forced to rely on today.”
“Our collaboration with Hyperledger Foundation is testament to the belief that open industry collaboration across the distributed ecosystem is critical to reimagine the current standards surrounding the movement of digital assets and currencies across chains.”
Commenting on their work with Fnality and R3 in developing “trustless” DvP atomic settlement, Guido Stromer, chief executive of HQLAX, says: “Having helped lead the build out and deployment of transformative global financial markets DLT networks, HQLAX recognises the importance of those networks being able to communicate with each other.
“We have been working closely with R3, Adhara, and Fnality to forge a path towards seamless cross-chain interoperability. We built HQLAX on Corda from the outset – and the new version of the platform will enable us to further future-proof our offering and provide the flexibility our customers need.”
Fnality International’s CEO Rhomaios Ram adds: “Fnality and its participants have been at the forefront of interoperability innovation, testing end-to-end DvP and PvP across Enterprise Ethereum and Corda platforms in partnership with Adhara
“Interoperability and interface standards are fundamental to the future digital capital markets ecosystem, enabling each platform to focus on its strengths while interoperating seamlessly. This is a very important initiative to drive adoption of DLT across financial markets.”
David Newns, head of SIX Digital Exchange, comments: "Since 2021, Corda has facilitated our end-to-end infrastructure for digital securities. We welcome the launch of the Hyperledger Lab, Harmonia, and the interoperability between Corda and Ethereum, as it will enable us to securely expand SDX's reach to both other regulated networks and public blockchains: a key step in building the future of financial markets infrastructure."
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