Not a Consortium: Banks Form For-Profit Entity for Blockchain Supply Chain

A group of eight major banks is close to forming a new kind of blockchain venture.

In contrast to the consortium models common to the sector, We.Trade recently revealed plans to move much of the European supply chain trade finance to a Hyperledger blockchain. Yet, it's how the group is taking its technology to market that sets it apart: hardly another non-profit, the founders (which include KBC, Deutsche Bank and HSBC) have a direct equity stake in the project's success.

With a tiered membership built to serve a single, valuable use case, and licensing members to use it, those involved believe they have created a structure that, while unique, is essential to the endeavor.

As put forward by, Roberto Mancone, global head of disruptive technologies at Deutsche Bank, the innovation emerged from the founders' demand for useful technology in a short time-frame.

Mancone told CoinDesk:

"[The joint venture] is the legal entity necessary in order to license the platform to other banks. Otherwise, as a consortium, you couldn't do it."

And this isn't the only step that's being taken to get the effort off the ground quickly.

After initial plans to launch in London were thwarted by the U.K.'s impending exit from the European Union, the joint venture is being established in Dublin, Ireland.

Still, questions are emerging about how the group makes money.

In addition to becoming licensing members, the founders (also including Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, UniCredi

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/not-consortium-banks-form-profit-entity-blockchain-supply-chain/