Bitcoin: Singapore launched blockchain project

Singapore's central bank is working with major lenders in Japan, the U.S. and Europe to begin testing a blockchain-based transaction system by the end of year.

Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the initiative is supported by the R3 blockchain research lab and BCS Information Systems.

The project will develop a pilot system in which Blockchain infrastructure is used to issue and transfer funds among participants. Such a system will also be more resilient against stoppages by decentralizing and distributing the software that records and validates payments. 

Participants can depend on the immutable record of transactions at the heart of the Blockchain to reduce the cost of long term record keeping. "Under the pilot system banks will deposit cash as collateral with the MAS  in exchange for MAS-issued digital currency," Menon told Reuters at the Singapore Fintech Festival.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which plays the role of a central bank as well as a financial watchdog, is leading the project. The consortium includes Bank of America Merrill Lynch, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank Ltd, The Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, JP Morgan, OCBC Bank, Singapore Exchange, United Overseas Bank and BCS Information Systems as a technology provider to the project.
Singapore is one of the world's leading finance centres and it aims to become an important fintech hub.