Bank of America has been among the leading holders of blockchain patents in the United States and has just registered one more. As per the new patent filing on Google Patents, BOA will use the Ripple Blockchain for a new interbank communication and settlement system.
Ripple has been at the helm of providing blockchain services to over 200 financial companies, including banks and other financial institutions. The network’s XRapid and XCurrent platforms have become a popular choice for finance organizations globally. With use in BOA’s new application, Ripple’s user base is likely to expand further.
The newly patented application is aimed at facilitating real-time settlements and communications thereof between banks, which will allow in faster cross border transactions. However, it’s only the blockchain and not the XRP token which is being utilized.
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BOA is not the first major global bank to utilize blockchain for settlements. London based global bank HSBC release a statement earlier in January this year, informing that it utilized blockchain tech to settle forex transactions worth over a whopping $250 billion. The world’s 5th largest bank’s Indian division also utilized the blockchain to make overseas payment.
Despite having the highest number of the blockchain-based patent in the US, BOA’s technology head Cathy Bessant said earlier that she has become quite skeptical about the tech’s success in the near future. Even though the bank’s most DLT patents came under her tenure, which began from 2016, Bessant said in March that she was quite bearish about blockchain’s success.
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Last year the bank released a statement that it would finance Microsoft and Amazon for their blockchain ventures. It had said on October 2018 that the blockchain could soon hit $7 billion, which at present is around $2.2 billion. As market pundits have predicted the industry to cross the $20 billion mark by 2023, expect more and more financial companies to start pouring in cash for blockchain projects.
