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EXCLUSIVE- Global technology company IBM is involved in more than 400 blockchain projects, according to its vice president of blockchain technologies, Gennaro “Jerry” Cuomo, who testified before Congress yesterday.

That number doesn’t surprise IBM Director of Worldwide Payments, Rajesh Venkatraman, who told Bank Innovation, “most of our customers are in some shape or form exploring what blockchain could mean to their business.”

For IBM, those applications are being used in various sectors aside payments, like data, supply chain, KYC, trade finance, insurance etc, Venkatraman said.

When it comes to payments, IBM has already launched a cross-border payment platform that enables money movement in near real-time on a single network. It has onboarded TD Bank, National Australia Bank, and Mizuho Financial Group in an advisory capacity on this pilot.

“Blockchain technology will become a competitive differentiator,” Venkatraman said. Perhaps that’s exactly IBM has invested in many internal blockchain projects.

Based on Cuomo’s comments before a Congress subcommittee, IBM is also working with other players to explore the possibility of creating an open blockchain ecosystem that will encourage innovation, mitigate risks and reduce costs across various industries in the U.S.

To promote the application of blockchain in this “broad ecosystem of U.S. businesses,” as well as government initiatives, Cuomo recommended that congress “when considering regulatory policy to recognize the difference between blockchain’s use in new forms of currency from broader use of blockchain to avoid consequences to stymie innovation.”

In other words, don’t just associate blockchain technology with the controversial cryptocurrency phenomenon, but as a catalyst for transforming existing technology.

Watch Cuomo’s full speech here.

To learn more about payments, join us on March 5-6, 2018 at the Parc 55 in San Francisco for Bank Innovation 2018. Click here to register.