DLT pigeon holes, Acronyms, Railways and Commercials.....PE2, LME & Hemp

As ever time flies. If I don't get this out tonight...another week will zip by.

One reason I blog is because writing forces me to formulate / pigeon hole my thoughts. Another reason I blog, and this blog is searchable, is because sometimes things don't easily lend themselves to a pigeon hole. (so if they're in the blog, at least I can reduce the scope of my search).

I'm finding I'm putting things into 3 broad buckets:
1. Blockchain / DL Technology: The technical and academic side of things. From Network theory to cryptography...and to a whole new set of acronyms. BTC, DLT, PoW, PoS etc. Are you losing sleep as you ponder will Hyperledger be a competitor of Ethereum? (Yes, in my view). Which codex is better? There is an institute for that type of question. http://www.blockchainstudies.org/index.html
2. Blockchain / DLT Ecosystem: Here I draw a parallel with the railways. (http://www.riagb.org.uk/). Blockchain has everything from engineers through to rails. Knowing where things fit and how they are interconnected is pretty obvious in railways...but we're less familiar with the blockchain environment. Do we care what gauge rails we run on - if we're at speed yes - but ultimately that will be an issue blockchain beneficiaries nwill be oblivious to. Still, right now, it helps to know.
3. Blockchain / DLT business. That is the use cases, the consortia, the white papers and the general industry positioning. (My next personal assignment is to do a 600 odd word piece on some of the recent white papers).

Anyway, some of the news that I managed to digest....and there is sooo much more out there that I simply have not had a chance to review. Hey ho, as it ever was. Graham Bishop is about the only guy I know that could keep up with all of Europes market reforms...clearing and settlement was more than enough for me. I'm sure there is a blockchain God out there too....but right now, I don't think anyone can corral everything into one place...but please, please do correct me if I'm missing something!

A plug for ICDA (the old SFOA for us long in the tooth). I'll be speaking there on 19th April.
http://www.incoda.org/blockchain-2016/
Let me know if you're going. I'd love to catch up.

Have a great week all (what is left of it)...and WooHoo, lets race into the first week of Q3 '16 on Monday.

S

www.clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com

Blockchain

BNP Paribas : takes keen interest in Blockchain
http://www.bnpparibas.com/en/news/bnp-paribas-takes-keen-interest-blockchain
Caisse des Depots Group.
French consortium: avec AXA, BNP Paribas, Blockchain Solutions, le Groupe BPCE, Cellabz, le CNAM, CNP Assurances, le Crédit Agricole, Croissance Plus, Paymium, et le Pôle de Compétitivité « Finance Innovation »
The principle objective is to develop and prototype usage scenarios related to banking, finance and insurance businesses.
http://www.caissedesdepots.fr/sites/default/files/medias/cp_et_dp/cp_initiative_place_blockchain.pdf

Japan Exchange Group and IBM to run proof-of-concept blockchain test

http://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/28471/japan-exchange-group-and-ibm-to-run-proof-of-concept-blockchain-test

Linux, IBM Share Bold Vision for Hyperledger Project, a Blockchain Fabric for Business

http://www.coindesk.com/linux-ibm-hyperledger-blockchain-business/

Blockchain platforms

The Blockchain platforms that we are currently tracking are:
Ethereum
Counterparty
Eris
Blocksteam
Maidsafe
Ripple
Stellar
Epiphyte
PeerNova
Chain
Hyperledger

http://dailyfintech.com/2015/04/15/application-developers-making-difficult-choices-among-blockchain-platforms/

What are the chief differences between Ethereum and Ripple's Codius? Which one is most likely to succeed?

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-chief-differences-between-Ethereum-and-Ripples-Codius-Which-one-is-most-likely-to-succeed

Welcome to the Institute for Blockchain Studies!

http://www.blockchainstudies.org/index.html

New Market Map Defines the Blockchain Ecosystemhttp://firstpartner.net/news/new-market-map-defines-blockchain-ecosystem

Consensus-as-a-service: a brief report on the emergence of permissioned, distributed ledger systems By Tim Swanson

Published: April 6, 2015
http://www.ofnumbers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Permissioned-distributed-ledgers.pdf

ISITC Europe Breaks down Blockchain and the Future of FinTech

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/isitc-europe-breaks-blockchain-future-fintech/?utm_content=buffercab87&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Wall Street Is Trying to Beat Silicon Valley at Its Own Game
Banks race to beat the patent trolls—and Silicon Valley.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/disrupting-banks-go-see-what-they-re-doing-at-the-patent-office

Inside Multichain: A Build-Your-Own Blockchain Service for Banks

http://www.coindesk.com/multichain-build-ownblockchain-banks/

Markets

BATS Chi-X Europe and Traiana enable OTC equity trade clearing

http://www.automatedtrader.net/news/at/155254/bats-chi_x-europe-and-traiana-enable-otc-equity--trade-clearing

The EU & its Partners: Attracting International Investors: How can the EU work with its Partners?

https://www.swissfinancecouncil.org/images/pdf/2016_SFC_Discussion_Paper.pdf

In 139 years the LME has only moved four times; it was established in 1877 above a hat shop in Leadenhall Market.
The LME was acquired by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited in December 2012.

https://www.lme.com/about-us/history/

Seed Commodities Exchange to launch in partnership with GMEX

Seed CX’s launch products include new weather derivatives and industrial hemp swaps, options and forwards.

http://www.gmex-group.com/seed-commodities-exchange-to-launch-in-partnership-with-gmex/

News (and stuff)

People are sharing Private Eye's brilliant skewering of the media's Jeremy Corbyn headlines

http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/people-are-sharing-private-eyes-brilliant-skewering-of-the-medias-jeremy-corbyn-headlines--Z1DJtVY_Be

The Independent newspaper confirms an end to print production
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/12153947/The-Independent-newspaper-confirms-an-end-to-print-production.html

If countries were the size of their stock markets
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3197558/If-countries-size-stock-markets-Merrill-Lynch-map-reveals-America-largest-squint-eyes-Russia-China.html#ixzz40QTTQ4ew

Interesting dynamic maps..

http://tellmaps.com/#!/tellmap/1282947234/0

A graphical history tour...

http://www.bofaml.com/content/dam/boamlimages/documents/articles/D3_056/11491403_the_longest_pictures.pdf

Three illustrators envision the classroom of the future.

https://medium.com/bright/automated-teachers-augmented-reality-and-floating-chairs-6a71fc7cf296#.7rky1wuos

EoC, WEF, HFT and Rubics cube....Netflix and Qantas

Another week and another barrage of blockchain papers. This week piccie from http://bitsonblocks.net/

This week Euroclear come out with their paper. The Citi Digital Money paper also available online after being formally presented.

Also included are links to the Davos papers (World Economic Forum). Some of them, like the future of jobs are nothing new, just confirm what we arleady know (we hardly know what the job specs will be in 10 years time).

A couple of HFT stories. Interesting to read Aquis taking order handling action. Also liked the work of the Tradebot guys in using technology to solve the rubics cube. For those that like management, I very much enjoyed the Netflix insights. New found respect for their culture (assuming it endures). And a magic safety video from Qantas for all those frequent fliers.

Have a great week all.

S

www.clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com

Blockchain (DLT)

Blockchain in Capital Markets

(24 pages)

https://www.euroclear.com/en.html

https://www.euroclear.com/dam/Brochures/BlockchainInCapitalMarkets-ThePrizeAndTheJourney.pdf

Releasing the flow of digital money: Hitting the tipping point of adoption.https://www.citibank.com/icg/sa/digital_symposium/

Davos: World Economic Forum Tackles Fintech
http://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2016/02/03/davos-world-economic-forum-tackles-fintech/
Nice piccie. (p12)
Nice presentation (178 pages)
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_future__of_financial_services.pdf

Jump to pages 44 and 45 of the roundup.
This introduces the reports released at Davos.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_AM16_Report.pdf

such as the future of jobs...
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FOJ_Executive_Summary_Jobs.pdf

Goldman and IBM join Digital Asset Holdings funding round
Goldman Sachs and IBM have jumped aboard Digital Asset Holdings' recent investment round, taking the blockchain startup's haul to more than $60 million.
https://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=28415
Love this comment:
...if the tool of the month is a hammer, everything around you looks like a nail....

Bank of America loads up on blockchain patents
Bank of America is in the process of filing 20 new blockchain-related patents, adding to the 15 it has already submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
.....describing the potential commercial application of its patents as "very unclear", Beasant said: "(It's) very important in the intellectual property world to reserve our spot even before we know what the commercial application might be."...
https://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=28401
I just don't see how 'very unclear' patents can be enforceable.
Rather disappointing GS 'esk behaviour from mother Merrill.

Smart Securities Trading Platform Symbiont Raises $7 Million
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/smart-securities-trading-platform-symbiont-raises-million-1452613323

Blockchain: Catalyst for Massive Change Across Industries
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2016/02/02/blockchain-catalyst-for-massive-change-across-industries/#

CIO Explainer: What Is Blockchain?

http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2016/02/02/cio-explainer-what-is-blockchain/

Kynetix appoints exchange industry pioneer to drive Commodity Blockchain Consortium
https://www.ctrmcenter.com/news/vendor-news/kynetix-appoints-exchange-industry-pioneer-drive-commodity-blockchain-consortium/

Markets

Aquis Exchange to ban predatory high-speed trading
“This is absolutely not against HFT,” said Haynes

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/04944696-c9d9-11e5-a8ef-ea66e967dd44.html#axzz3z6cqYKUz

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-03/this-upstart-market-hopes-to-grow-with-flash-boys-strategy

Olathe co-workers build a superfast Rubik’s Cube robot for a Guinness World Record attempt
(They work together at Tradebot Systems.)http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/technology/article57328688.html

BNP Paribas to simplify its wealth management structure

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bnp-paribas-wealth-idUKKCN0VA35L

LSE Said to Hire Morgan Stanley's Ross to Run Derivatives Venue: CurveGlobal

(previously Project Rita)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lse-said-hire-morgan-stanleys-111825144.html

BBA calls on European Commission to ensure financial regulation supports competition and growth
(80 pages!)
https://www.bba.org.uk/news/press-releases/bba-calls-on-european-commission-to-ensure-financial-regulation-supports-competition-and-growth/#.VrPmr4_XLIU

AFME responds to Commission’s call for evidence
Equity primary markets and trading report: Q4 2015

AFME publish first pan-European SME guide

All at: www.afme.eu/

Stuff

THE WOMAN WHO CREATED NETFLIX'S ENVIABLE COMPANY CULTURE

http://www.fastcompany.com/3056187/the-future-of-work/the-woman-who-created-netflixs-enviable-company-culture

Here's to the Crazy Ones, Think Different
Apple Confidential - Steve Jobs on "Think Different" - Internal Meeting Sept. 23, 1997

1997. Steve Jobs in shorts, relaxed, during internal meeting with Apple executives and managers, just a few weeks after his return to Apple, speaks briefly about planned changes in company (pipeline, products, distribution changes) and then presents first informations about planned "Think Different" campaign, now legendary and iconic... Samples of TV commercial, outdoor, posters, and press ads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GMQhOm-Dqo&feature=youtu.be


Don't Touch That Dial! By Vaughan Bell
Worries about information overload are as old as information itself.
A respected Swiss scientist, Conrad Gessner, might have been the first to raise the alarm about the effects of information overload. In a landmark book, he described how the modern world overwhelmed people with data and that this overabundance was both "confusing and harmful" to the mind. It's worth noting that Gessner, for his part, never once used e-mail and was completely ignorant about computers. That's not because he was a technophobe but because he died in 1565.

Socrates famously warned against writing because it would "create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories." He also advised that children can't distinguish fantasy from reality, so parents should only allow them to hear wholesome allegories and not "improper" tales, lest their development go astray.

As literacy became essential and schools were widely introduced, an 1883 article in the weekly medical journal the Sanitarian argued that schools "exhaust the children's brains and nervous systems with complex and multiple studies, and ruin their bodies by protracted imprisonment." Meanwhile, excessive study was considered a leading cause of madness by the medical community.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/02/dont_touch_that_dial.html

Why Luxembourg wants to mine asteroids

Later this year, Nasa’s Osiris-Rex mission will attempt to return a 60g sample from an asteroid to Earth at a pricetag of around $1bn.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/12137693/asteroid-mining-luxembourg-space-plan-esa.html

Qantas Safety Video
Published on 2 Feb 2016. Airbas A380 version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhbXFHrDmTg

Education

“Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: 'You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by people who have been able to accommodate themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors. It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself — educating your own judgements. Those that stay must remember, always, and all the time, that they are being moulded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society.”
― Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook

Complex change, Citi DigiMoney, Imperial College....Aussie Day and farewell Chi-X (as we knew it).

The piccie is one sent to me by my brother. It resonates with me for 2 reasons. One is the practicalities of the diagram (some versions label 'treadmill' as 'false starts', but having lived the dream(s) I think treadmill far more appropriate). The other is that it shows for transformational projects to succeed there are combinations of dependencies. I don't think management nees to be added to the mix (already covered in skills and resources) but I do think there is space for an emotional intelligence dependency. You can have skills, resources and incentives but if the people mix is wrong....it won't fly. Maybe a purist catches this under resources...but to me resources is just bandwidth. It is the synthesis that is critical.


I also attended the Citi Digital Money Symposium. I was very impressed by the pedigree of the speakers. I was also very impressed with the practical and theoretical work of Imperial College's Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering department. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/cryptocurrency
Even the BBC is covering Blockchain these days....
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bbcs-click-blockchain-documentary/
(Includes more coverage from IC's Prof. William Knottenbelt)

Yet another white paper out last week: this one from DTCC.

Happy, belated, Australia Day and farewell to Chi-X. The last of the constituent parts have found a new home. CXE to BATS, CXC to Nasdaq, CXA and CXJ etal to Flowers.

Have a great week all!

S
www.clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com

Blockchain

New DTCC White Paper Calls for Leveraging Distributed Ledger Technology to Solve Certain Long-Standing Operational Challenges

The paper, titled “Embracing Disruption – Tapping the Potential of Distributed Ledgers to Improve the Post-Trade Landscape,” notes that while today’s financial market infrastructures have a proven track record of providing stability, reliability and certainty, they are often quite complex, siloed and not equipped for 24/7/365 processing. DTCC believes a secure distributed ledger, with complete and traceable transaction history for a set of assets that is shared and accessible only between trusted parties, could provide significant operational improvements as well as further mitigate risk and reduce post-trade costs.

http://dtcc.com/news/2016/january/25/new-dtcc-white-paper-calls-for-leveraging-distributed-ledger-technology

Accenture Report:

Top 10 Challenges for Investment Banks 2016
The impact of digital technology on investment banking

https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-top-ten-challenges-investment-banks-2016.aspx

** Challenge 4 is. of course, Blockchain technology.

Microsoft to Offer Ethereum-Based Services on Azure

The software giant has formed a partnership with Brooklyn-based Consensys, a startup that is building products and services for Ethereum, an alternative platform to bitcoin. Through the partnership, customers of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based business service, will have access to tools that will allow them to experiment with and build products that can digitize and automate a plethora of operations, from securities trading to cross-border payments to corporate accounting, and offer them to their own customers.
Vitalik Buterin, a 21-year old programmer and writer, launched Ethereum this summer as a platform for what are called smart contracts. While bitcoin was designed with the single purpose of exchanging digital currency, Ethereum has broader goals. Ethereum’s mandate is to provide businesses with a platform on which products and services can be built that simplify various business functions and cut out the need for third parties. Anything that can be digitized, cryptocurrencies, derivatives trading, securities trading and settlement, even property titles, is a potential service on Ethereum.

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/10/28/bitbeat-microsoft-to-offer-ethereum-based-services-on-azure/

Microsoft Bets That Bitcoin-Style Blockchains Will Be Big Business
Microsoft Positions Itself as the Perfect Home for Bitcoin-Style Blockchains | MIT Technology Review
Microsoft wants financial companies to host their blockchain software inside Azure. It has recently struck partnerships with several startups working on blockchain software for banks and other big corporations.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/545806/microsoft-bets-that-bitcoin-style-blockchains-will-be-big-business/

Markets

JC Flowers buys Chi-X

Stock exchange Chi-X Australia along with Chi-X Japan and Chi-Tech Hong Kong have been sold for an undisclosed amount to global private equity house JC Flowers & Co
Chi-X Global owned Chi-X Australia, but the ultimate owners were Nomura's Instinet, and minority owners UBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, GETCO LLC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Quantlab Group LP. 
http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/jc-flowers-buys-chix-for-undisclosed-amount-20160125-gmddic.html#ixzz3yFolJgri 

Regulation / Banking

Correspondent central banking model (CCBM)
Procedures for Eurosystem counterparties

Update effective as of 25 January 2016 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/coll/ccbm/html/index.en.html

** This is a nice updated explanation of the CCBM model.

FESE Response to ESMA on indirect clearing arrangements under EMIR and MiFIR

http://www.fese.eu/10-position-papers/145-response-to-esma-on-indirect-clearing-arrangements-under-emir-and-mifir

Belgium gets cold feet on financial transaction tax

The European Commission proposed taxing financial services in 2011, in the wake of the financial crisis. Lacking unanimous approval, an “enhanced cooperation” group of 11 countries agreed to push the project: France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia and Austria. Estonia has since withdrawn, arguing that the costs associated with the tax would be higher than the revenues.
Some other countries in the group, such as Slovenia, now appeared reluctant too and the withdrawal of two or more countries would sink the proposal, since EU rules require at least nine countries to back such a procedure.

http://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-tobin-tax-van-overtveldt-disagreement-financial-transactions-speculation-tobin-van-overtveldt-charles-michel/

Too big to behave?

European Bank Resolution: Making it work!
From the start of 2016, new rules for bank resolution are in place – as spelled out in the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) – across the EU, and a new authority (the Single Resolution Board, or SRB) is fully operational for resolving all banks in the eurozone.
The implementation issues of the new regime are enormous. Banks need to develop recovery plans, and authorities need to create resolution plans as well as set the minimum required amount of own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) for each bank. But given the diversity in bank structures and instruments at EU and global level, this will be a formidable challenge, above all with respect to internationally active banks.

https://www.ceps.eu/publications/european-bank-resolution-making-it-work

News

BBC2 to broadcast final moments of assisted suicide campaigner
How To Die: Simon’s Choice was filmed over last few months of Simon Binner’s life following motor neurone disease diagnosis
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/26/bbc2-assisted-suicide-simon-binner-motor-neurone-disease
...and a poignant LinkedIn profile..
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/simon-binner-b068b378


Happy Australia Day!
Australia Day 2016: 'Epic' water slide video goes viral
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/australia-day-2016-epic-water-slide-video-goes-viral-20160127-gmewvc.html#ixzz3yR86lwBw