UPDATE
TECH
Goldman Sachs, Morgan
Stanley & Santander de-
part R3 in mass exodus
News of high profile departures from
blockchain working group, R3, swept the
thetradenews.com this quarter...
G
oldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley
and Santander have decided
not to renew their subscriptions to
blockchain working group, R3, The
TRADE understands.
Goldman Sachs was one of
nine banks that founded R3 in
2014, alongside Credit Suisse, JP
Morgan and others. The TRADE
understands Goldman Sachs did
not renew the membership, as it
no longer aligned with the bank’s
technology strategy.
Santander also confirmed its
departure from R3, although reiter-
ated their decision to leave did not
reflect a disinterest in distributed
ledger technology. Santander said
it would continue to concentrate
on its other blockchain initiatives.
Similarly, Goldman Sachs’ said
its commitment to exploring
blockchain is seen through its
recent investment in Digital Asset
Holdings. In February this year,
Goldman joined 13 other investors
in a funding round, which saw total
investment in Digital Asset Hold-
ings reach $60 million. Morgan
Stanley declined to comment.
Discussing the investment, Paul
Walker, global co-head of technolo-
8
TheTrade
Winter 2016
DEAL IN
NUMBERS
R3
was founded in
2014 by former
CEO of electronic
broking at ICAP,
David Rutter.
9
founding
members
Barclays, BBVA,
Commonweatlh
Bank of Australia,
Credit Suisse,
Goldman Sachs,
JP Morgan, RBS,
State Street
and UBS.
R3’s consortium
has over
50
leading financial
institutions
partners.
gy at Goldman, explained the bank believes blockchain
technology “will play a transformative role in the way
financial institutions transact globally.”
“We look forward to working with Digital Asset and
the broader financial and technical community to
engage this emerging technology,” he added.
R3 explained in response to the confirmed depar-
tures: “As with any project of this scale and scope, we
always expected the make-up of the consortium to
change over time.
“Developing technology like this requires dedica-
tion and significant resources, and our diverse pool of
members all have different capacities and capabilities
which naturally change over time.”
The blockchain working group also highlighted the
recent additions of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, Cincinna-
ti based Fifth Third Bank, insurance provider Suncorp
Group and financial services company Synchrony
Financial.
The high profile departures from the R3 have raised
questions about the commercials of the venture’s busi-
ness model, according to an industry expert.
Nick Weisfeld, data practice head and blockchain
specialist at GFT, said that the issues are not with the
potential of blockchain technology.