Banking Sector Giant ING Dips Its Feet Into Blockchain Technology
ING is reportedly planning to venture into blockchain technology, adding to the list of traditional banks that have also expressed interest in going down the same path.
ING which is based in the Netherlands is one of the biggest players in the banking industry, with its financial services spanning multiple countries. The Dutch bank is reportedly working together with a decentralized database firm called R3CEV as part of their venture into blockchain.
The main focus of their partnership will be the confidentiality and privacy of their operations, especially in the capital markets on a daily basis. Blockchain solution has been marketed as an ideal technology in terms of security and efficiency while some blockchains are designed with privacy as one of their key features. This makes blockchain one of the best alternatives that ING can use to achieve its intended purpose.
ING plans to use blockchain to handle the settlement of complex transitions. It has already created an enhanced version of zero-knowledge proof which allows financial institutions to employ a higher level of security especially when it comes to client data. The decentralized nature of blockchain technology allows for a higher level of security by preventing the manipulation of data, thus making the network completely secure.
The Dutch bank plans to enhance its offerings not only through the use of its zero-knowledge range proofs but also by introducing the secure and efficient nature of blockchain. Zero range proofs are ideal on their own for example when determining a range of the amount of money held by an account without revealing the actual amount. Mariana Gomez de la Villa, the head of ING’s global blockchain program stated that the system is ideal when protecting the denomination of a transaction by facilitating validation especially if an account has enough money to fulfill a transaction.
Part of ING's interest in blockchain technology is because it wants to use it to facilitate the Zero-knowledge even with other types of data other than just numbers. For example, it can be used to handle data such as names, locations, and addresses. Gomez de la Villa stated that the combined systems could be applied over a wide range of data. Mark Buitenhek, the head of transactions at ING stated that the partnership with R3CEV creates an exciting opportunity to carry out research into the potential uses of these technologies.