International Business Machines Inc. has announced that it is working on the blockchain technology for creating smart contracts.



“Blockchain, as a technology, is extremely interesting and intriguing”, Arvind Krishna, senior vice president of IBM research, told the The Wall Street Journal.



According to The Wall Street Journal, IBM is developing its own version of blockchain technology and plans to release open source software within next few months.



The latest endeavour is distinct from the blockchain-style experiment, Adept, that the company announced in January. Adept is designed to monitor connected devices.



Krishna told the publication house that “they are modifying the original bitcoin ideas to build a blockchain that operates without currency, ensures that contract details remain private and makes it easier for companies to embed business rules into their smart contracts”.



He suggested that the project could lead to wider financial access for the unbanked population, stating:



“I want to extend banking to the 3.2 billion people who are going to come into the middle class over the next 15 years. So, I need a much lower cost of keeping a ledger. Blockchain offers some intriguing possibilities there.”