The Rewiring of Financial Services Continues -- Deloitte's Blockchain Team Unveils Prototypes, Research and Alliances at Consensus 2017

NEW YORK, May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- From the stage of the largest blockchain conference in the world, Deloitte will give a behind-the-scenes look at one collaborative effort in development in Hong Kong, walking through its creation and some of its challenges to get to this point ? as well as what's ahead.

In addition, Deloitte will reveal a number of new blockchain prototypes it has developed, preview new research on the blockchain space and unveil two new marketplace consortiums it has joined.

Beginning at 4:45 p.m. EDT today, Eric Piscini ? a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and the global blockchain leader for financial services ? will take the stage at CoinDesk's Consensus 2017 to discuss the latest Deloitte developments.

"The potential to rewire financial transactions is significant with blockchain," said Piscini. "Similar to when we rewired the backbones of the power, transportation and information industries, it will take courage and time to change the ways we transact today ? and that's what we hope to show at Consensus 2017. Blockchain will be bigger than you can imagine, but will be harder than everybody expected."

Piscini also will introduce Lory Kehoe, a director with Deloitte Ireland and leader of Deloitte's Dublin blockchain lab, with an executive from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to discuss a trade finance-focused blockchain solution.

The new platform was developed for financial institutions, buyers, sellers, and logistics companies to digitize paper-intensive processes through smart contracts. It will also help reduce the risk of fraudulent trade and duplicate financing, and improve transparency and new product innovation of the industry as a whole. The five leading trade finance banks in Hong Kong were also central to its creation.

"Deloitte's blockchain team is comprised of more than 800 professionals across 20 countries, with specialists now across every major business sector," said Piscini. "Not only do we have blockchain labs in New York and Dublin, but we will be announcing another very shortly."

Here is a look at what else Deloitte is announcing at the conference.

New prototypes
Deloitte will showcase a number of new blockchain prototypes it has built for the first time, adding to its library of more than 30 altogether.

The prototypes will be led by Deloitte Mercury platform, which has re-imagined how trade finance can leverage a blockchain-based infrastructure to drive efficiencies, reduce cost and open up new revenue opportunities, including newer models of credit and funding guarantees that back a trade. This platform was utilized in the HKMA effort.

Other new prototypes include platforms around reinsurance, know-your-customer regulations, real estate leasing, regulatory reporting for mutual fund administrators, and voting processes. These collectively include efforts from Deloitte's teams from across the globe, including its member firms in U.S., Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands. Each will be on display at the event.

New research
Finally, Deloitte will release three new white papers, led by "Taking Blockchain Live: The 20 Questions that Must Be Answered to Move Beyond Proofs of Concept."

Informed by Deloitte's recent conversations with clients, "20 Questions" finds that there are 20 essential questions that must be asked ? and answered ? to help determine whether an effort achieves the status of being a successful new technology innovation or an abandoned proof of concept. As the report states, "... by addressing these questions early, the chances of successfully harvesting the benefits of blockchain increase dramatically."

Other new research that will be unveiled include looks at both cybersecurity and risk in the blockchain technology, as well as a preview of a forthcoming Deloitte Center for Financial Services analysis that tracks blockchain's growth in the open-source world.

New collaborations
Deloitte will also announce that it has joined two global consortiums:

• The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, which connects Fortune 500 enterprises, startups, academics and technology vendors to promote, develop and implement enterprise grade Ethereum-based blockchain applications across industries; and
• Hyperledger Project under the Linux Foundation, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technology globally, which is seeking to create an open standard for distributed ledgers for a new generation of transactional applications.

"Blockchain is the catalyst for a larger digital transformation impacting the financial services space," said Joe Guastella, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and the global leader of Deloitte's consulting practice focused on financial institutions. "Deloitte's effort is a global one, as we connect our clients ? some of the best-known players in the world ? with some of the top vendors and blockchain technology companies out there. We're thrilled to be showcasing our collective ecosystem this year at Consensus."

The event is being livestreamed here.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.

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SOURCE Deloitte