EY releases third edition blockchain technology on Ethereum public platform

Published by: Sandy Bhadare at 13 Jan 2020

London-headquartered professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) released its third-generation zero...

London-headquartered professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) released its third-generation zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) blockchain technology to the public domain on Ethereum, a distributed public blockchain network.

The announcement follows EY’s collaboration with Australian start-up Block2 in November, to create blockchain solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises , as well as its October 2018 launch of the initial, first generation, ZKP technology on the public Ethereum blockchain.

The improvements made to the ZKP blockchain technology allow private transactions on public blockchains to be more accessible by reducing transaction costs through the grouping of multiple private transfers into a single transaction.

As a result, up to 20 transactions may be completed at one time, reducing the cost of each transaction by approximately $0.05, a 400-fold improvement over the original version of the technology.

The new version of the technology can be used on private blockchains built on the Ethereum platform, where it provides an additional level of security, as well as on the public Ethereum network.

“Organisations are increasingly seeing the potential for public blockchains, with 75% of enterprises likely to use these networks in the future”, said EY’s global blockchain leader, Paul Brody, in a statement.

He added that the updated blockchain technology will “cut the cost per transaction by more than 90%” which will make “private transactions more accessible for mainstream business application”.

Looking ahead, EY predicted forthcoming improvements to the Ethereum blockchain network, which it anticipates bringing improved performance and allow users to pool transactions.

Competitor Big Four professional services firm Deloitte announced obtaining a blockchain services firm in Southeast Asia in December, forming part of the Deloitte Asia Pacific Blockchain Lab.