Herbert Smith Freehills, Data61 and IBM create consortium to deliver smart legal contracts on blockchain to Australian businesses

29 August, 2018

The Australian National Blockchain will help create a new technology platform to securely and transparently manage legal agreements.

Herbert Smith Freehills, CSIRO’s Data61, and IBM have formed a consortium to build Australia’s first cross-industry, large-scale, digital platform to enable Australian businesses to collaborate using the IBM Blockchain Platform and blockchain-based smart legal contracts.

Known as the Australian National Blockchain (ANB), the new platform will represent a significant new piece of infrastructure in Australia’s digital economy, enabling companies nationwide to join the network to use digitised contracts, exchange data and confirm the authenticity and status of legal contracts.

Once completed, the ANB will enable organisations to digitally manage the lifecycle of a contract, not just from negotiation to signing, but also continuing over the term of the agreement, with transparency and permissioned-based access among parties in the network. The service will provide organisations of all sizes the ability to use blockchain-based smart contracts to trigger business processes and events.

ANB will provide smart legal contracts (SLC) that contain smart clauses with the ability to record external data sources such as Internet of Things (IoT) device data, enabling these clauses to self-execute if specified contract conditions are met. Continue reading →

Future perfect: the rise of blockchain

16 April, 2018

It has been a decade since the invention of blockchain, the technology with the potential to disrupt industries and sectors far and wide. Yet it remains an area of confusion for many, with its application in the cryptocurrency sphere gaining a large part of the media’s focus, thanks to controversial digital currencies like Bitcoin. Continue reading →

FCA Feedback Statement on Distributed Ledger Technology Discussion Paper

5 March, 2018

As the UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee launched an investigation in March 2018 into the benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies and the potential impact of Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT“), and the European Commission launched an EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum in February 2018 (to highlight key developments of blockchain technology and reinforce engagement with multiple stakeholders involved in blockchain activities), regulators have also been taking a closer look at the implications of DLT, including the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Continue reading →