Hyperledger Foundation, an open-source blockchain software developer, has added two new members and established the Hyperledger Besu Financial Services Working Group. The goal of the working group is to enhance collaboration between service developers and organizational users.
Citi and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) have joined as new members of the foundation, which already has 133 existing members, including banks, central banks, tech firms, nonprofits, educational institutions, and retailers. According to Daniela Barbosa, the executive director of Hyperledger, members can support the foundation financially or through their expertise. This support is crucial for the foundation’s 13 projects, as it ensures their continuity and the production of enterprise-grade code.
Barbosa mentioned that a significant portion of Hyperledger’s funding is allocated to training expert users, who are in high demand as the foundation’s products gain popularity.
Hyperledger Besu is a Java-based software that includes an implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It was originally developed by Consensys and contributed to the Hyperledger Foundation in 2019. Barbosa emphasized that all 13 Hyperledger projects have received contributions from various companies.
Contributing code to an open-source foundation is a common practice when a company does not want to be the sole developer of a software. Open-sourcing a project accelerates development and fosters the growth of a larger ecosystem. Barbosa added that Hyperledger collaborates with 35 vendors, as Besu users require a diverse range of vendors and partners for a thriving marketplace. She also highlighted that open sourcing allows companies to collaborate on the development of noncommercial features of the software.
The newly formed Besu working group will be led by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which is already a premier-level member of the foundation. Other members of the group include Accenture, Banco Central do Brasil, Consensys, Citi, Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, Mastercard, Santander, and Visa.
According to Blockdaemon, a survey of 92 firms conducted in early 2024 revealed that Hyperledger Besu is the most widely adopted software for asset tokenization, with over 40% of the firms mentioning it. However, Blockdaemon cautioned that the tokenization landscape is fragmented and unpredictable in the next 12-18 months.
The Hyperledger Foundation is a part of the Linux Foundation.
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