Blockchain Technology isn’t the Answer, Transaction Speed and Transparency Levels Could Be

Contrary to the views expressed by Brad Garlinghouse the CEO of Ripple in a previous report, SWIFT’s GPI (global payments innovation) could soon increase the level of competition in the space according to an American Banker. The GPI is reportedly now used at more than 450 banks, all of which process up to about 80% of the payments or transactions done internationally.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD

NamePrice24H %
bitcoin
Bitcoin(BTC)
$0.00-0.15%

GPI’s daily amount of total settled payments typically exceeds $300 billion. Swift is the network behind this new payment tracking technology, which could threaten Ripple. And the network claims that the Blockchain initiative alone isn’t the answer to the issue of faster transaction or payment times.

SWIFT is More Attractive Due to its Transaction Speed and Transparency Level

What makes SWIFT’s GPI more attractive to bankers can be attributed to the speed and transparency level of the transactions completed on the network. According to Wim Raymaekers who serves as the head of SWIFT:

“Our banks are happy with the type of API-based technology we provide in GPI, which produces a quicker payment experience.”

While SWIFT’s GPI isn’t necessarily capable of speeding up transactions or payments, it can do so indirectly by making sure they are confirmed by the banks on the same day.

According to Raymaekers, the two key main concerns of Ripple include speed and transparency, which the Blockchain does not appear to have an answer to. Last year, SWIFT ran a DLT (distributed ledger technology) experiment to determine if changing to a hyperledger would increase cross-border payments transparency. Soon, they encountered a different issue altogether. In his words:

“Banks have actually indicated that they don’t want to communicate on the amount of money they have on any account to everybody. We had to make sure that the conversations are kept private.”

Bilateral Blockchain Deployment Between Parties Can Guarantee An Acceptable Level of Transparency

At the end of the experiment, SWIFT came to the conclusion that the only way that an acceptable level of transparency can be attainable is through the deployment of bilateral Blockchains between the parties involved. However, doing so may become too complex to manage from a long-term point of view. Raymaekers added:

“Our conclusion is that it is quite the challenge for banks to adopt DLT-based systems in the present state of things.”

Canadian Regulators Open Investigation into QuadrigaCX

In other reports, the Ontario Securities Commission, the largest securities regulator in Canada, has opened an investigation into the situation with the troubled Canadian crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX. As per Reuters, QuadrigaCX applied for creditor protection on February 5, in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Since that time onwards, there has been a series of rumors surrounding the unexpected death of the founder of the exchange in addition to the issue of suspicious wallet activity plaguing the exchange.

Regarding the matter, the Ontario Securities Commission had this to say via a statement to Reuters:

“Considering the potential harm that this matter can cause Ontario investors, we have decided to look into the issue with QuadrigaCX and have already made contact with the monitor.”

The move by the regulator will cool the atmosphere around the exchange giving users of the exchange a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.

Brian Lubin is a Crypto News Reporter for Smartereum. He's well-known for his reports on the crypto markets.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.