Microsoft, others partner in Canton Network

A consortium of participants in the finance and technology sectors, including Microsoft and Goldman Sachs, is currently developing a novel blockchain network for financial institutions.

The Canton Network will be a privacy-enabled, interoperable blockchain network aimed at those working with institutional assets, according to an announcement made on May 9.

It will permit the synchronization of financial markets that had been “previously siloed.”

In July, the network will begin testing its capabilities, which include extensive privacy controls and the capacity to accomplish the required scale and performance for major financial institutions.

BNP Paribas, Cboe Global Markets, Digital Asset, Paxos, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and Deloitte are among the current network participants.

Cathy Clay, executive vice president of Cboe Global Markets, one of the project’s participants, stated that blockchain technology has the potential to “unlock” new market opportunities.

“The tokenization of real-world assets may offer an unprecedented opportunity to create new market infrastructure and drive efficiency in the trading of products across the globe.”

Canton is based on Daml, the smart contract language of digital assets, which enables the synchronization of “assets, data, and cash” across linked applications.

As the crypto winter shows evidence of thawing, institutional investors maintain their investments and industry interest.

In March, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment acquired approximately $269,929 Coinbase shares for approximately $18 million.

A study published by Goldman Sachs on May 8 revealed that 32 percent of family offices currently invest in digital assets.

INX, a platform for security tokens, released a new MPC wallet on May 3 for institutional investors to control assets and employee access to such assets.