Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and other big firms are relaunching Financial Blockchain

Financial firms like Deloitte, S&P Global and Moody’s have come together to support the launch of the Canton Network, a blockchain designed to streamline financial markets with Web3 technology.

The network aims to provide businesses with decentralized infrastructure that can make transactions more efficient, connect financial systems and allow them to operate in a synchronized manner, the participants said in a press release.

“Assets, data and cash can be synced freely across applications,” they said. “This creates opportunities for financial institutions to offer new innovative products to their customers while improving their efficiency and risk management.”

The institutional use of Web3 technology was still robust last year despite a decline in digital asset prices. The announcement signals that some firms are still positive about blockchain technology for its potential, despite a regulatory cloud in the US and damage caused by several crypto-native collapses.

Canton Network uses a smart contract language called Daml, created by software company Digital Asset.

“For the first time, financial institutions can realize the full benefits of a global blockchain network while operating within the regulatory railings that ensure a safe, sound and fair financial system,” said Digital Asset co-founder and CEO Yuval Rooz. is a significant step forward for the blockchain space.”

Canton Network has 30 participants so far, incl Paxos, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Cboe Global Markets and Microsoft — and the group said they expect the network’s number of connections to grow exponentially this year as applications develop.

The network addresses some of the most common obstacles holding institutions back from using Web3 technology, the statement said, such as lack of privacy and control over data, trade-offs with chains that currently offer interoperability, and scaling limitations. And pStarting in July, network participants will begin testing the network’s interoperability across a variety of use cases and applications.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink so last year that the tokenization of assets — which represent assets as stocks with digital tokens — could be a turning point for traditional finance, holding the potential for “instant settlement” and “reduced fees.”

And some of Canton Network’s attendees seem to agree, including Cathy Clay of Cboe Global Markets.

“At Cboe, we believe the tokenization of real-world assets can offer an unprecedented opportunity,” Clay, executive vice president of data and access solutions, said in a prepared statement, adding that it could “create new market infrastructure and drive efficiencies in trading products worldwide.”