UBS bank opens lab for blockchain technology research

Swiss bank UBS will investigate how the blockchain technology used by bitcoin could be used in the world of financial services. UBS will set up a special research lab in London for this purpose.

The research lab will be staffed by IT specialists from UBS together with researchers from the so-called ‘fintech’ sector, reports The Wall Street Journal. They will conduct research into how the blockchain technology, which forms the basis of the virtual currency bitcoin, can be used for financial processes. The decentralized blockchain could potentially yield significant cost savings.

Not only UBS is interested in the blockchain; The British central bank said last year that it sees blockchain as a promising technology that could potentially have major implications for the financial sector, on which the UK economy is heavily dependent. In addition, the British government has put 10 million pounds, approximately 13.6 million euros, into research into the possibilities of the virtual currency.

The blockchain, in fact a ledger, already makes it possible to make bitcoin payments without or at very low transaction costs. Due to its decentralized design, the blockchain makes it possible for two parties that do not know each other to enter into a reliably executed transaction without the intervention of a third party. Many software developers are working on concepts where the blockchain can be used for all kinds of transactions, such as the examples mentioned in the background article The power of the blockchain.