Wall Street giants invest $30 million in blockchain startup Chain.com

The blockchain technology is creating waves in the global financial sector. Recognising its potential to disrupt the traditional banking system, more and more finance industry giants are entering the blockchain space.

Visa, Nasdaq and Citi Ventures are the latest addition to this list. They have invested $30 million in Chain.com, a San Francisco-based blockchain developer platform that works with financial institutions to develop ways to trade and transfer financial assets using blockchain technology.

“Blockchain technology represents a fundamental, generational shift for financial services, and Chain’s platform is enabling and accelerating this transformation,” said Ramneek Gupta, co-head of global venture investing at Citi Ventures. “We hope to leverage Chain’s platform to rapidly test and develop applications as part of Citi’s multi-faceted blockchain strategy which has the potential to greatly enhance our customers’ experience well beyond just currencies and payments.”

Other investors include Capital One Financial Corp., Fiserv Inc. and Orange SA. The new investors will also form a working group with the company to explore the technology’s application in various markets.

Although the technology seems to be gaining recognition among many big names on Wall Street, it could take a long time before a significant number of financial institutions agree to back the new system for processing and clearing transactions.

“We believe in the power of blockchain technology to transform how financial assets are transferred, but it has to be done with the right partners to insure it gets off the ground,” said Adam Ludwin, CEO of Chain, in an interview.